Former training partners Alexander Volkov and Sergei Pavlovich met in the cage, and tempers flared after 15 minutes of action.
Volkov (37-10 MMA, 11-4 UFC) outpointed Pavlovich (18-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) in the all-Russia heavyweight bout, which served as the co-feature of UFC on ABC 6 co-main event at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Judges scored the contest 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 in favor of the 6-foot-7 Volkov.
After Volkov led the early dance with range-finding leg kicks, Pavlovich began closing the distance, working behind a left jab to set up his powerful right hand. Volkov did well to avoid the heavier shots, firing back sharply as the round progressed, sending Pavlovich back to the stool with a bloody nose.
Pavlovich entered Round 2 for the first time in his UFC career, and was greeted with hard kicks to the body from Volkov. Pavlovich continued to stalk forward as Volkov managed the distance as he circled, trading single strikes.
Pavlovich pressed the action in the final round, heeding the calls from his corner. The striking volume from both turned up in the first half of the round, as Volkov stood in the pocket and traded for a moment, but eventually thought better of it and got back to what put him up on the scorecards.
After the final horn, Volkov walked over to Pavlovich to embrace, but was pushed away, making for a brief, but tense moment. During his post-fight interview, Volkov expressed his confusion at Pavlovich’s reaction.
Sergei Pavlovich shoved Alexander Volkov after their fight #UFCSaudiArabia pic.twitter.com/UbzcEcQl39
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 22, 2024
Volkov extended his winning streak to four, a run that began in 2022 and includes stoppages of Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Alexander Romanov, and Tai Tuivasa.
The frustrated Pavlovich has now lost back-to-back fights for the first time in his career.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ABC 6 results include:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ABC 6.
