Sergei Pavlovich Issues a Statement on 'Emotional' Loss Against Alexander Volkov

Sergei Pavlovich has opened up for the first time on his loss against Alexander Volkov at UFC on ABC 6 last weekend.

Pavlovich was a sizeable favorite going into the co-main event against Volkov in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. While many were expecting an early finish from Pavlovich, Volkov picked his opponent apart throughout the course of three rounds to earn a dominant unanimous decision win.

The otherwise soft-spoken Pavlovich was seen shoving his opponent, also his former sparring partner, after the fight. Pavlovich recently admitted that the loss was an emotional one for him. Having scored 15 of his 18 career wins via knockout so far, Pavlovich believes he made a mistake in desperately hunting for another highlight-reel KO.

“It wasn’t my day; nothing went according to plan,” Pavlovich wrote on social media. “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.”

Pavlovich’s reaction after the Volkov loss doesn’t come without some background. Pavlovich and Volkov were initially against fighting each other on account of having trained together on several prior occasions. But neither party was willing to back down if the other accepted, which is likely what the UFC capitalized on to make the booking. When the matchup was officially announced, Volkov, who had no prior knowledge about it, believed that Pavlovich accepted the fight first. Meanwhile, Pavlovich accused Volkov of accepting the matchup first during their face off before UFC Saudi Arabia.

The recent loss puts Pavlovich on a two-fight skid after a first-round KO loss in an interim title fight against Tom Aspinall at UFC 295 in November 2023, which snapped six-fight first-round KO streak.

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