Alex Pereira and Sergei Pavlovich.
Pereira and Pavlovich collide
Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight match at UFC 335 Dec. 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Considering both fighters’ limited English, Volkov jokingly previewed the back-and-forth between the Brazilian and the Russian.
Volkov believes Sergei Pavlovich’s power makes him a dangerous stylistic matchup for Pereira
All kidding aside, Volkov believes that Pavlovich is a bad stylistic fit for Pereira. He predicts that the compatriot’s power will overwhelm “Poatan”.
“It’s going to be a very awesome press conference with both of them,” Volkov told Helen Yee. “One of them says, ‘See you,’ and the other says, ‘Chama.’ But I see Alex Pereira losing streak because it will be a very difficult match for him. Pavlovich hits very hard. Given (Pereira’s) style, it’s a very bad matchup for him.
While Volkov and Pavlovič (21-3) used to be friends and teammates, their relationship turned into a fight in 2024. Volkov tried to bury the hatchet after the unanimous decision win, but Pavlovich was visibly upset and pushed him away.
Since then, Pavlovic has gone on a three-game winning streak. Meanwhile, Pereira (13-4) moved up to heavyweight earlier this year after three successful light heavyweight title defenses. However, his heavyweight debut was marred by a TKO loss
Cyril Gane in the interim title fight at
UFC Freedom 250 in June.
Meanwhile, Volkov returns at
UFC 333 against Abu Dhabi on October 24 Rizvan Kuniev.
