The UFC Saudi Arabia event was the first of its kind, and it featured many thrilling fights with elegant victories and devastating losses. One of such loss was Pavlovich’s unanimous decision loss to Volkov [18-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC].
After the battle, Volkov approached Sergei for a handshake, but his opponent shoved him aside. Following this behaviour, Pavlovich took to social media to make a statement.
“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 painful 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 come back stronger and wiser..”
The fight was fierce as Pavlovich struggled to bring his tall opponent down. He swung hard punches and uppercuts, but ‘Drago’ was unphased by his strikes. Volkov continued to pepper his opponent with jabs and ended up busting up Pavlovich’s nose. The loss was Pavlovich’s second in a row,
Volkov’s win will be his fourth in his previous fights in the cage, and the fighter feels positive about the future.
“I don’t know [what happened]. I just come to say, ‘Thank you for a great fight,’ and he [Pavlovich] got mad.” He said at a post-fight press conference. “ Maybe [he shoved me because of] all the games before the fight.
“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.”
Although Pavlovich has had a back-to-back loss for the first time in his career, the fighter is still optimistic and plans on preparing more for his future fights in the UFC. He knows he has the support of his fans and that’s what keeps him going.
