Alexander Volkov warns he’ll ‘call the cops’ on Pavlovich as the heavyweights fail to squash their beef in Saudi Arabia (2024)

Heavyweights Sergei Pavlovich and Alexander Volkov clashed in the octagon after their fight came to an end in the dunes of Saudi Arabia last night.

The co-main event of UFC Saudi Arabia last night was as fascinating as many fans predicted but what was a surprise, was the manner in which Sergei Pavlovich reacted to the unanimous decision defeat; as he lost his temper with his Russian countryman after the final bell.

Volkov warns he’ll ‘call the cops’ if Pavlovich continues feud

Despite entering the Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia as the sizable underdog, size indeed proved to be the determining factor as Alexander Volkov bloodied the nose of Sergei Pavlovich with thunderous jabs from the outside, en route to a unanimous decision victory.

Yet even after going 15 hard minutes with ‘Drago’, Pavlovich appeared to want to continue the fight after the final horn sounded, shoving Volkov hard in the chest as the victor attempted to shake his hand.

“I don’t know [what happened], I just come to say, ‘Thank you for a great fight’ and he got mad,” Volkov told Daniel Cormier in the octagon, adding that “Maybe [he shoved me because of] all the games before the fight.”

Speaking at the post-fight press conference, Volkov noted that whilst the push wasn’t in the spirit of competition, he was particularly annoyed at the foul language that Pavlovich also directed towards him.

“I mean I didn’t think it was a nice thing to do from him, I guess he’s mad at me – I’m not really sure why and I would love to figure out why, maybe he just misunderstood something but it’s his fault, not mine.

“To be honest, this was the first time that I’ve ever heard Sergei curse because he kind of told me to – well I’m not going to repeat what he said – but this is the first time I’ve actually heard him maliciously use curse words in my direction.”

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It was certainly an unusual outburst from Pavlovich, with much of the pre-fight conversation being around the two being ‘friends’ and training partners; when asked whether the two will now remain cordial, Volkov simply stated: “What do you think?”

The 6’3” tall juggernaut then argued that after fighting in a sanctioned bout, “If he’s got a problem, it’s on his side because I let the situation go… If he’s got a problem, he should be the one initiating the solution.”

Yet with Volkov and Pavlovich often sharing the same spaces outside of the octagon back home, what would happen if the Russian powerhouse wanted to continue his post-fight shove away from sanctioned fighting?

“If he tries to attack me, I’ll call the cops.”

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What’s next for Alexander Volkov, one of two UFC titles maybe?

With the victory in Saudi Arabia, Alexander Volkov is now riding an outstanding four-fight winning streak which includes finishes of Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Alexandr Romanov, Tai Tuivasa – and now a UD win over Sergei Pavlovich.

Considering the winning streak, Volkov’s likely taking of the #3 spot in the rankings previously held by Pavlovich, and the mess that is the top of the UFC heavyweight tree; it’s no surprise that the gigantic Russian is eyeing a title shot next.

“Yes, I would really like to fight for the title, but that’s beside the point – I am an employee of the UFC and I’m going to have to not go with my wishes but go with what they say is right.

“There has been an unwritten agreement that that will be the case, but who it’s going to be [against] or where it’s going to be, we don’t really know yet.”

‘Drago’ was then asked whether he’d be willing to forgo a heavyweight title shot in favor of fighting for a heavyweight-focused BMF title – with one name being thrown out being Derrick ‘The Black Beast’ Lewis.

“I would fight the fights that are interesting to the fans, that’s the primary goal,” acknowledged the surging contender.

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“This fight specifically wasn’t a good fight for the Russian public, it wasn’t something that they wanted to see, but I’m interested in all fights.

“If there was such an opportunity for the heavyweight division to secure a fight for the BMF that would be great, I would fight with anybody – in fact, I would fight with two people the same night.”

Following his victory in the dunes of Arabia, Alexander Volkov improves his professional record to 38-10, whilst Pavlovich slumps to 18-3 with back-to-back defeats in the UFC octagon.

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