Russian fighter Alexander Volkov after defeating Australian Tai Tuivasa at UFC 293, he told about his desire to fight with compatriot Sergei Pavlovich, but on condition that he receives the status of a contender for the heavyweight belt .
Volkov defeated Tuivasa by submission in the second round, the fight took place in Sydney and became the co-main event of the tournament.
— When I was at the reception, I remembered all the things I was told about. As Tuivasa was already caught and he was twitching to try to get out, I felt like I had already caught him. You just had to hold it a little longer, about ten seconds. This technique does not immediately begin to act, it is not purely suffocating, there is also an element of painful impact. I knew I had to wait a bit. I grabbed it, adopted it and everything went well.
The Australian audience is very unique and suited to MMA. People here really like mixed martial arts. Just so you understand, this tournament started on Sunday around eight in the morning local time, but by that time the arena was already packed and half of the spectators were already drunk. MMA is one of the main sports for Australians. In general, the audience was good and pleasant. Naturally, they supported my opponent more than me, but I didn’t have a problem with that.
He rehabilitated himself after his defeats and achieved three early victories. You could say I’m already a UFC veteran, this was my 15th fight. I will now occupy 5th to 6th place in the ranking. This is a normal practice when fighters with such a ranking fight for the belt. I understand that the guys are waiting there, the same Pavlovich is waiting, but Gan has already had a chance, Aspinall is also waiting for the fight, but he does not have a long winning streak. It would be quite logical for us [с Павловичем] fight among themselves. I also liked the scenario where I was fighting Jones or Miocic. I’m not going to fantasize, I understand that it will be difficult to organize this now, but it is also one of the possible options. Well, anyway, any fight with an opponent higher than me in the rankings will suit me. The only thing I would like to have is a guarantee that if there is a fight with Pavlovich, the winner would face the champion. I wouldn’t want to fight Pavlovich like that,” Volkov said on the air of the show “Everyone for the match!” on .
Volkov, 34, has 37 victories and 10 defeats in mixed martial arts. Pavlovich, 31, sits at No. 1 in the UFC heavyweight division and is on a six-game winning streak via first-round knockout. Previously, Volkov and Pavlovich were training partners in the Strela gymnasium in Moscow for a long time.
The current UFC heavyweight champion is American Jon Jones.
Live broadcasts of mixed martial arts tournaments can be seen on the federal channel “”, as well as on the websites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.
Source : MatchTV
I am Ashley Ortiz and I am a professional journalist working for Athletistic. My specialty is in sports journalism, particularly boxing. I have written articles for some of the most renowned publications on the subject, and my work has been featured across both print and digital media platforms.
