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.
Volkov extended his winning streak to four, a run that began in 2022 which 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:
Alexander Volkov def. Sergei Pavlovich via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Kelvin Gastelum def. Daniel Rodriguez via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Shara Magomedov def. Antonio Trocoli via knockout (punches) – Round 3, 2:27
Volkan Oezdemir def. Johnny Walker via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 2:28
Nasrat Haqparast def. Jared Gordon via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Felipe Lima def. Muhammad Naimov via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 1:15
Rinat Fakhretdinov def. Nicolas Dalby via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Muin Gafurov def. Kyung Ho Kang via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Magomed Gadzhiyasulov def. Brendson Ribeiro via majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)
ChangHo Lee def. Xiao Long via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ABC 6.
ChangHo Lee, UFC on ABC 6
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Xiao Long vs. ChangHo Lee, UFC on ABC 6
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ChangHo Lee def. Xiao Long, UFC on ABC 6 Scorecard
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Magomed Gadzhiyasulov, UFC on ABC 6
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Magomed Gadzhiyasulov vs. Brendson Ribeiro, UFC on ABC 6
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Magomed Gadzhiyasulov def. Brendson Ribeiro, UFC on ABC 6 Scorecard
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Muin Gafurov, UFC on ABC 6
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Kyung Ho Kang vs. Muin Gafurov, UFC on ABC 6
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Muin Gafurov def. Kyung Ho Kang, UFC on ABC 6 Scorecard
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Rinat Fakhretdinov, UFC on ABC 6
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Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Nicolas Dalby, UFC on ABC 6
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Rinat Fakhretdinov def. Nicolas Dalby, UFC on ABC 6 Scorecard
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Felipe Lima, UFC on ABC 6
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Muhammad Naimov vs. Felipe Lima, UFC on ABC 6
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Felipe Lima def. Muhammad Naimov, UFC on ABC 6 Scorecard
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Nasrat Haqparast, UFC on ABC 6
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Nasrat Haqparast vs. Jared Gordon, UFC on ABC 6
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Nasrat Haqparast def. Jared Gordon, UFC on ABC 6 Scorecard
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Volkan Oezdemir, UFC on ABC 6
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Johnny Walker vs. Volkan Oezdemir, UFC on ABC 6
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Volkan Oezdemir def. Johnny Walker, UFC on ABC 6 Scorecard
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Shara Magomedov, UFC on ABC 6
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Shara Magomedov vs. Antonio Trocoli, UFC on ABC 6
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Shara Magomedov def. Antonio Trocoli, UFC on ABC 6 Scorecard
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Kelvin Gastelum, UFC on ABC 6
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Kelvin Gastelum vs. Daniel Rodriguez, UFC on ABC 6
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Kelvin Gastelum def. Daniel Rodriguez, UFC on ABC 6 Scorecard
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Alexander Volkov, UFC on ABC 6
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Sergei Pavlovich vs. Alexander Volkov, UFC on ABC 6
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Alexander Volkov def. Sergei Pavlovich, UFC on ABC 6 Scorecard
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Story originally appeared on MMA Junkie