Two Russian giants clash in the co-main event of UFC on ABC 6. Sergey Pavlovich is the fighter with the biggest Ape Index, meaning that his arms are much longer than you’d expect based on his height. His opponent, Alexander Volkov is the tallest UFC fighter in 2024, with a height of 6’7.
Sergey Pavlovich vs. Alexander Volkov Odds
| Moneyline | Odds |
|---|---|
| Alexander Volkov | +185 |
| Sergey Pavlovich | -220 |
When, Where, and How to Watch?
- Place: Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Date: Saturday, June 22, 2024
- Time: ~3:00 p.m. ET
- How to Watch: ABC
Sergey Pavlovich Wants to Get Back in the Spotlight ASAP
Sergey Pavlovich is 18-2 overall, with his first career loss happening in 2018 against Alistair Overeem. He then went on to win the next six fights, each by a first-round KO/TKO.
His brilliant run caught the eye of Dana White & Co., so they decided to give him a shot at the UFC Heavyweight interim title. The bout was against Tom Aspinall, but it did not go well for the Russian. The Englishman KO-ed him in the first round, after only 69 seconds.
Seven months later, Pavlovich is coming back to Octagon, this time to fight his fellow Russian, Alexander Volkov. Pavlovich is favored to win with -190 odds, but Volkov mustn’t be underestimated, especially because he tends to do well against prolific strikers such as his UFC Saudi Arabia opponent.
Alexander Volkov to Give War to Pavlovich on June 22
Alexander Volkov is 37-10 in his professional career, but he’s riding on a 3-win wave that saw him beat Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Alexander Romanov, and Tai Tuivasa. The first two he beat by a first-round KO, while Tuivasa succumbed to an Ezekiel choke produced by Volkov.
Not only is he on a great run, but this guy also has a great history against opponents who put striking first. Pavlovich lands more than 8 significant strikes but he makes no takedowns. At least, he hasn’t made one in his UFC career which started back in 2018.
Volkov, on the other hand, is a much better wrestler and also has decent grappling skills. And he tends to use them against strikers. He beat Tuivasa by submission, as well as went to a real wrestling/grappling war with Fabricio Werdum and Stefan Struve.
Sergey Pavlovich vs. Alexander Volkov Prediction
Pavlovich is one of the best strikers in the UFC right now, but other than striking, he doesn’t have too many weapons in his arsenal. We’re also not sure about his stamina given that the last time he spent more than one round in the Octagon was in 2017.
So, our prediction is that either Pavlovich will win by KO in the first round or Volkov will beat him in one of the next four rounds. If we had to pick one of these scenarios, we’d go with the latter one.
Pick: Alexander Volkov