UFC heavyweight Sergei Pavlovich has been left bemused following the announcement of a fight at UFC Saudi Arabia.
Earlier this week, Dana White took to X to reveal the UFC’s inaugural Saudi show. The event is set to take place on June 22nd. Fans were initally stunned by the announcement of a middleweight main event showdown between Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev. The excitement continued to build, with White going on to announce that Sergei Pavlovich vs Alexander Volkov would serve as the co-main event on the star studded card.
It seems that this was as much of a surprise to the fighters themselves as anyone else.
Sergei Pavlovich on Weird UFC Saudi Arabia Fight Announcement
Shortly afterward, Russian outlet Red Fury MMA claimed that neither camp had any knowledge of the bout, prior to White’s announcement. They stated:
“Sergei Pavlovich’s team, as well as Alexander Volkov’s team, are surprised by the official announcement from the UFC about the fight against each other in Saudi Arabia.”
Red Fury MMA
Neither fighter has made comment at the time of writing. The story has developed further, however, with a source telling RingSide 24:
“Volkov and Pavlovich were not going to fight each other, they are on good terms, periodically train together. Such a fight is only possible if it is a [title] challenger or title fight. Volkov also already had a contract in hand for a fight against Brazilian Jailton Almeida. Now there will be negotiations between the league and managers to have the fight between Volkov and Pavlovich canceled.”
RingSide 24
Furthermore, reports were made earlier this week that a fight between Volkov and Jailton Almeida was slated for UFC 302. Fans and fighters alike, it seems, are completely in the dark here.
UFC Jump The Gun (Again)
Sergei Pavlovich is far from the first fighter to fall victim to a surprise bout announcement.
A most notable example came as recently a UFC 299. A salivating bout between Dustin Poirier and Benoit Saint Denis was announced by the organisation, only for ‘The Diamond’ to later take to social media and state that “There was no contractual agreement before the fight was announced.”
Although the fight would eventually unfold, it seems the UFC have had issues with being overzealous on multiple occasions.
Famously outspoken Paulo Costa also claimed that no contract had been signed by his team ahead of a slated fight with Robert Whittaker at UFC 284.
“UFC promoted that post, me against Robert… That was pretty, pretty fake news because I didn’t get a contract or terms or nothing to fight him. Just Mick Maynard asked me if I’d like to fight him, I said, ‘of course’. He is a great fighter, and this is supposed to be a great fight to do, a fight that you feel excited to do, and I think the people want to watch this fight as well.”
Paulo Costa, The MMA Hour
Given the UFC’s track record, do you think Sergei Pavlovich vs Alexander Volkov will go ahead? Let us know below.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
