One Mountain Left to Climb for Alexander Volkov

Alexander Volkov has checked most of the boxes he set out to check when he started his mixed martial arts journey more than 15 years ago. Only one glaring omission remains: an Ultimate Fighting Championship title.

The 35-year-old Russian will continue his quest when he takes aim at former training partner Sergei Pavlovich in the UFC on ABC 6 heavyweight co-headliner this Saturday at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Volkov steps back into view on the heels of three straight victories, all of them finishes—a run of dominance that has moved him back into the Top 5 and kept him in the discussion as a viable contender. A win over Pavlovich would only strengthen his position.

“I know that right now I’m a veteran of the UFC,” Volkov told Sherdog.com. “I have a lot of fights in the UFC, but I still want to be a champion. Of course, this fight is a good opportunity for me to go up in the rankings. As far as I know, if I win this fight in a good way, I will compete for a title shot next. I don’t know if it would be an interim belt or the real belt—I don’t know what will change after my fight—but I really believe that after this, I can fight in a title shot.”

Pavlovich does not figure to be a willing participant in the onetime Bellator MMA and M-1 Global champion’s plan. A physical force at 6-foot-3, 260 pounds, he has secured 15 of his 18 career victories by knockout or technical knockout. Curtis Blaydes, Tai Tuivasa, Derrick Lewis and Shamil Abdurakhimov highlight his extensive list of victims. However, Pavlovich enters his showdown with Volkov in the wake of a 69-second knockout loss to Tom Aspinall at UFC 295 in November.

“He’s a good explosive striking fighter who can knock out guys with just a few punches,” Volkov said. “He has a really good standup game, really good takedown defense. I didn’t see any bad points in his game, so I will do everything in the fight, depending on the situation. I will focus on my good things, and I’m trying to do all I can do [to] the best [of my ability], because we’re both standup fighters. We will see which standup game will be better.

“I try to perform with all my skills,” he added. “I try to get better. I try to be a more universal fighter. I try to learn how to mix my wrestling and striking skills. My opponent is still a really good striker with a wrestling base, so I’m not sure I can do a lot of wrestling in this fight. I’m more focused on my striking skills.”

Volkov did his pre-fight preparation at the Porrada Training Center and the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas, where his progress was overseen by a variety of coaches, from Marcelo Nunes, Ronny Markes and Gavin Pratt to old standbys Taras Kiyashko and Mikhail Zayats.

“All my sparring partners were local fighters,” he said. “These guys compete on different pro shows in MMA, just regular fighters in the gym who usually compete. They are the same training partners who helped me for my previous fight.”

Volkov remains friendly with Pavlovich, even as they approach their head-to-head battle in the Middle East. He does not foresee it altering their personal connection moving forward.

“We still have a good relationship, like friends, and I don’t think it will influence our relationship in the future,” Volkov said. “It will be just a fight with two friends, two Russian guys. It will be really interesting, and I think it will be really good.”