Heated UFC Fight Night in Saudi Arabia as Volkov-Pavlovich bout continues post-match

MANILA, Philippines – In spite of the cool air-conditioned confines of the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the mixed martial arts action was more than red-hot. It was intense from a fight that continued post-match to another where the losing party displayed his unhappiness over the result.

Alexander Volkov used his movement and the diversity of his arsenal to get the better of knockout artist Sergei Pavlovich and end up with a unanimous decision victory. 

Volkov is now on a four-fight win streak and said, "In the first round I changed my game plan... because he's so powerful, I felt that one punch could finish the fight. I felt my reach. I felt my punches. I controlled him well. I just kept going my way and it worked. (My conditioning) is something new. I felt like I started each round fresh and that angered my opponent so it inspired me.”

After Volkov was declared the unanimous decision winner in the heavyweight co-main event against Russian compatriot Pavlovich, the latter shoved the former when he came over to shake hands.

It was surprising for MMA watchers as both were friends as well as training and sparring partners.

Pavlovich was visibly frustrated and upset as he struggled to secure points against the taller Volkov. 

As he later posted on his Instagram account: “It wasn’t my day; nothing went according to plan. I was ready for anything, but I was too focused on getting a knockout and took too many unnecessary hits. The result was a loss by points. This was very emotional and tough for me, especially knowing that I didn’t meet your expectations. Thank you all for your support! I promise to come back stronger and wiser.”

Nevertheless, it looks like the friendship is over as Volkov wasn’t pleased at all: “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.”

When asked if the friendship was over, Volkov tersely answered, “What do you think?”

The opening fight of the night was the last final for Road to UFC Season 2, between bantamweight finalists Xiao Long of China and Chang Ho Lee of South Korea. The two immediately engaged with every tool in their striking arsenal for a nonstop first round. Xiao Long's punches landed more throughout round two, staving off Lee's plan to wrestle so he ramped up his knees in the clinch. In the final round, Lee finally scored with a back take, but Xiao Long made a complete reversal for his own, and they ended the close and exciting fight with striking in the clinch. With a split decision win coming from the judges' scorecards, Korea's Lee won a coveted UFC contract. 

Lee said, "Xiao Long was better than I expected, but I'll be a better fighter next time. His clinch was strong so I had to knee him a lot. Definitely my stamina was a condition in this fight.  

The Chinese fighter was clearly not happy with the decision. 

The UFC is televised live every Sunday in the Philippines over the Premier Sports channel on Sky Cable and Cignal as well as the Blast TV streaming application. The next UFC event is UFC 303 scheduled for Sunday, June 30, with the early prelims opening at 6 a.m. and the preliminary Card at 8 a.m. The main card where current light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira takes on former titlist Jiri Prochazka is scheduled at 10 a.m.