Alexander Volkov and Sergei Pavlovich are set to clash in the co-main event of the UFC’s inaugural event in Saudi Arabia.
Despite the promotion’s announcement of the fight, both heavyweights claimed they knew nothing about it, and the initial plan was for Alexander Volkov to fight Jailton Almeida at UFC 302.
Volkov last fought in September when he submitted Tai Tuivasa in round two of their UFC 293 co-main event.
According to RingSide24, Volkov was even sent the contract for a fight with the Brazilian, and was taken by surprise when the UFC announced he was fighting Sergei Pavlovich – a long-time training partner.
Alexander Volkov tried to defer the fight
The two Russian heavyweights have been training with each other for several years and the 35-year-old Volkov jokingly posted an image of the fight announcement on his social media, captioned: “When the prank goes too far.”
Initially, both teams tried to defer the fight according to RingSide24, but Volkov admitted ‘my refusal limits are over’.
Sergei Pavlovich last competed in November, when he took on Tom Aspinall for the interim heavyweight title. After suffering a first-round knockout – the second of his career, with the first being against Alistair Overeem – he was seemingly set to fight Ciryl Gane next.
Despite that, the fight between the two Russian teammates seems to be set to go ahead, and ‘Drago’ has made a worrying admission ahead of it.
Alexander Volkov details worrying sparring story ahead of fight with Pavlovich
Ahead of their fight – which takes place on June 22nd – Volkov has painted a picture of what the sparring rounds looked like between the two.
“He hits like a hoof – very hard. It was very hard to work with him. I think I didn’t win a single round against him. After every punch, my legs were shaking. To be honest, when he came to sparring, I tried to stand with him less because I realized that every time he hit me, an injury could happen.” Volkov told RingSide24.
This worrying admission doesn’t paint a very optimistic picture for the fight. The last time the 35-year-old was knocked out was back in 2018 when he suffered a third-round knockout at the hands of Derrick Lewis.
Sergei Pavlovich is one of the hardest hitters in the UFC, and before his loss against Aspinall, he was on a six-fight win streak, with all wins coming via first-round knockout.
The main event of the UFC Saudi event is a middleweight matchup between Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev, with the winner earning a title shot.
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