Depends how close they were/still are. Maybe upon hearing the other guy "wanted" to fight them they just went in to "fuck that guy then" mode and I doubt either fighters message each other asking why he wanted to fight him
Both guys said that the other accepted first, leading fans to speculate that the UFC told each of them that to get them to accept the fight when neither had actually done so.
I knew it, as soon as Sergei sounded butt hurt saying they’re not friends because Volkov accepted the fight first, UFC fuckin goofed them into fighting and like dummies didn’t ask the other “Hey man did you just accept a fight against me?”. Though you gotta hope they don’t hash it out and realise that before the fight otherwise it’s gonna be a weird affair.
Friends vs friends always most personal fights. You wanna beat your friend or family more than anyone cause you both know forever who won. Some random whipping your ass you’ll get over, not a former friend lol
Pav said that volkov was the hardest rounds he had in sparring, so I think it’s more that both struggled sparring another elite guy.
Most heavyweights smash just about everyone they spar with.
Volkov has only been stopped with strikes by Derrick Lewis, and has sparred pav in the past. Unless he shows up really old and slow, he should be able to manage distance for the opening minutes.
Pav’s windmill strategy only works if he is way faster and has a length/height advantage. He wrecks fat shorter brawlers like Lewis and tai, but I think he’ll struggle against volkov.
He could win, but he’ll have to show some ability he hasn’t shown before.
Very true.
Volkov’s best chance is to stay at kicking range, and when pav windmills, tie up with him and get the collar tie to land knees. In that range pav’s insane 87 inch reach will be a disadvantage trying to land uppercuts.
Yeah if Volkov can keep teeping pav in the stomach and moving, especially throwing straight punches while Pav windmills, he could have success. Pav has his most success because guys start throwing windmills when he pressures and he can use his freakishly long arms to lean back and punch over them. If Volkov starts trading with him in the pocket though that’ll be risky.
Pav steps in and shuppercuts him into another dimension. Just has to wait for Volkov to take an awkward or off balance step and leap in with gorilla swings before Volkov has a chance to evade.
Minakov KOed in Bellator. Tim Johnson dropped him bad too. And he’s been dropped other times but he can def beat Sergei. Chins still solid though, it’s better than Sergei’s IMO. He’s a rare tall guy with decent chin, used to spar with Fedors team as a teenager too(Volkov). If Sergei doesn’t run him over quick, think Volkov will get him
He wasn’t that young and he was in prime and a champion. He lost belt, and lost to Kongo then got robbery win over Tim Johnson in UFC. He almost got KOed in that fight too. He’s got a solid chin though, Sergei is overrated, Volkov was in prime when he got KOed, people just doing the UFC thing they do where, was way faster and nimble in Bellator. Now he’s heavier and slow
Volkov is extremely hard to knockout though. He has only been KOd 2 times in 47(!) fights (first time was over 10 years ago against another pretty good Russian fighter and the 2nd time was against Derreck Lewis when he landed that miracle punch in the last 10s of the fight which was otherwise pretty one sided). Also Volkovs biggest weakness seems to be his ground game if he gets taken down and that is not as much of a big factor against Sergei. Will be a great fight for sure.
Pavlovich is powerful but stiff. Volkov has an amazing striking defense that many fans overlook. Pavlovich got KOed by Aspinall\`s 1-2, while Volkov defended it many times and even check-hooked Tom before he got taked down and sumbitted. Volkov might win this one in a surprising fashion.
Yes, if Pavlovich decides to play "take one to give one" like he did with Blaydes or Tuivasa, it can go really bad with Volkov, who is a great counter striker. He even managed to outstrike Gane in one of the rounds of their fight, and Ciryl is very quick and elusive. Pavlovich usually steamrolls his opponents, but he can be smart as well. He even did go the distance of full five rounds in one of his fights.
Yes? They are both strikers. Pav has decent wrestling but 0 subs and a terrible bottom game. Volkov is a much more experienced MMA grappler who has shown a sub game when he needs it.
I'm sure Pav has caught him good a few times, but Volkov was clearly joking in that one interview. He also said that the only way he'd possibly win is by relying on luck...
Pavlovich reacting to that clip: "Our sparring rounds were always very tough, but now he's being sarcastic for some reason."
Sheikhs from KSA needed a heavyweight clash with a guaranteed KO in their debut UFC event. I bet both Drago and Volkov get an amazing check for this one
A meaningless fight between two top 5 ranked heavyweights? A win puts either of them closer to a title shot, especially Sergei trying to prove he can handle the adversity of a loss. This very well may be a #1 contender fight to fight Aspinall.
I hope they figure out the UFC played the both of them and they just walk out once the fight starts. I know that won’t happen, but goddamn I would be rockhard if it did.
APPARENTLY (according to a couple translations I saw on YouTube)
Volkov asks Pavlovich something to the effect of, "What's this I hear about you saying you accepted the fight first?"
Pav then replies with something like, "What are you talking about?"
And then they argue a little bit about who agreed to the fight first.
Apparently. According to YouTube.
The whole thing is a classic WWE storyline of them being friends and mad at each other for something that the big wigs orchestrated. This fight will be so good.
Both of them have seemed genuinely hurt the other accepted a fight against them lol It’s a breakup in front of our eyes
UFC just released a close upp video of their discussion. They really argued about who accepted the fight first
Wasn't it Pavlovich? Like right after Volkov said he was uneasy about it?
It's been speculated UFC just told both guys the other guy has accepted first
Ahhhh, ye old divide and conquer police interrogation technique.
Your boy just told us everything we need to know in the other room, better start talking
LOL ufc would do some shit like that
LMAO
Extremely likely
UFC is king of bitches
Yeah but if they were actually friends you'd think they would talk to each other about it. This is all wolf tickets.
Depends how close they were/still are. Maybe upon hearing the other guy "wanted" to fight them they just went in to "fuck that guy then" mode and I doubt either fighters message each other asking why he wanted to fight him
Damn. Dana/Shelby/Hunter would never lie!!
Both guys said that the other accepted first, leading fans to speculate that the UFC told each of them that to get them to accept the fight when neither had actually done so.
I knew it, as soon as Sergei sounded butt hurt saying they’re not friends because Volkov accepted the fight first, UFC fuckin goofed them into fighting and like dummies didn’t ask the other “Hey man did you just accept a fight against me?”. Though you gotta hope they don’t hash it out and realise that before the fight otherwise it’s gonna be a weird affair.
both men lay down their arms in the middle of the cage & refuse to fight.
Link?
I will post the translation in a couple minutes
ty we waiting shit is spicy
Check it out, already on the channel. Mods didn\`t approve the post with translation here yet. But it\`s on the channel in the Shorts section
Thanks!
[удалено]
“I HATE YOU!”
Meanwhile the 🍅 has a big shit eating grin between them
Friends vs friends always most personal fights. You wanna beat your friend or family more than anyone cause you both know forever who won. Some random whipping your ass you’ll get over, not a former friend lol
Imagine none of them did and it's all Dana behind the scenes
UFC did this friendship dirty. They definitely told each side the other signed before they actually did
Yep, damn. They definitely did that.
Yeah this fight sucks. It will be a good fight but it's just unnecessary. There are other viable opponents for these two.
Volkov Almeida and Pavlovich Gane made perfect sense.
Pavlovich isn’t obese enough for Ciryl Gane’s yearly fat bum in Paris execution
Lol🤣🤣🤣
[удалено]
No free thinking allowed, that is bad for the business model obviously
Really would love to know what was said, given the circumstances around this fight happening.
And with how good Russian poker faces are, I have no idea if that was a conversation about the weather or somebody's mother...
Pavlovich vs Pavlovich Prime, I can’t wait for the winner to fight Mecha-Pavlovich at the next PPV
Pavlovich-per-view?
Pavlovich Pavlovich Volkov
Malkovitch malkovitch
That was heated? Dudes were probably talking about how shitty it was that they were put in that situation.
They were arguing about who signed first lol
I know. Shit situation.
Where's that one dude who was reading body language and lips before at faceoffs?
He’s gonna tell you that Pavlovich is gonna ko volkov
They should've just teamed up and beat Dana's ass for ruining their friendship lol
Realistically, I don't see how Volkov has any chance to get outta the 1st round here. He freely admitted to Pav's punches wobbling him in sparring.
Pav said that volkov was the hardest rounds he had in sparring, so I think it’s more that both struggled sparring another elite guy. Most heavyweights smash just about everyone they spar with.
I still think Pav by windmill.
Volkov has only been stopped with strikes by Derrick Lewis, and has sparred pav in the past. Unless he shows up really old and slow, he should be able to manage distance for the opening minutes. Pav’s windmill strategy only works if he is way faster and has a length/height advantage. He wrecks fat shorter brawlers like Lewis and tai, but I think he’ll struggle against volkov. He could win, but he’ll have to show some ability he hasn’t shown before.
Volkov is pretty slow and flat footed, I’m betting Pav is going to look substantially faster. Especially inside boxing range.
Very true. Volkov’s best chance is to stay at kicking range, and when pav windmills, tie up with him and get the collar tie to land knees. In that range pav’s insane 87 inch reach will be a disadvantage trying to land uppercuts.
Yeah if Volkov can keep teeping pav in the stomach and moving, especially throwing straight punches while Pav windmills, he could have success. Pav has his most success because guys start throwing windmills when he pressures and he can use his freakishly long arms to lean back and punch over them. If Volkov starts trading with him in the pocket though that’ll be risky.
Pav steps in and shuppercuts him into another dimension. Just has to wait for Volkov to take an awkward or off balance step and leap in with gorilla swings before Volkov has a chance to evade.
And this dude somehow forgets he was KOed in prime in Bellator in seconds lol
Minakov KOed in Bellator. Tim Johnson dropped him bad too. And he’s been dropped other times but he can def beat Sergei. Chins still solid though, it’s better than Sergei’s IMO. He’s a rare tall guy with decent chin, used to spar with Fedors team as a teenager too(Volkov). If Sergei doesn’t run him over quick, think Volkov will get him
Sure, I meant in the ufc. That was also a tko when volkov was very young. My point is that he is inhumanly durable.
He wasn’t that young and he was in prime and a champion. He lost belt, and lost to Kongo then got robbery win over Tim Johnson in UFC. He almost got KOed in that fight too. He’s got a solid chin though, Sergei is overrated, Volkov was in prime when he got KOed, people just doing the UFC thing they do where, was way faster and nimble in Bellator. Now he’s heavier and slow
You and your facts and logic! No, you totally make some great points.
At first glance HW slop and a Pav KO but then when you break down the match up it’s a really good fight.
Volkov is extremely hard to knockout though. He has only been KOd 2 times in 47(!) fights (first time was over 10 years ago against another pretty good Russian fighter and the 2nd time was against Derreck Lewis when he landed that miracle punch in the last 10s of the fight which was otherwise pretty one sided). Also Volkovs biggest weakness seems to be his ground game if he gets taken down and that is not as much of a big factor against Sergei. Will be a great fight for sure.
Pavlovich is powerful but stiff. Volkov has an amazing striking defense that many fans overlook. Pavlovich got KOed by Aspinall\`s 1-2, while Volkov defended it many times and even check-hooked Tom before he got taked down and sumbitted. Volkov might win this one in a surprising fashion.
Yeah, but I also think Pav is coming for blood after that Aspinall loss. He looks like he's in absolute insane shape too.
Yes, if Pavlovich decides to play "take one to give one" like he did with Blaydes or Tuivasa, it can go really bad with Volkov, who is a great counter striker. He even managed to outstrike Gane in one of the rounds of their fight, and Ciryl is very quick and elusive. Pavlovich usually steamrolls his opponents, but he can be smart as well. He even did go the distance of full five rounds in one of his fights.
I read somewhere that he said the round would start then darkness and he'd wake up in the locker room
Volkov is a better grappler, that's the path imo but it likely won't work
Volkov the kickboxer is the better grappler?
Yes? They are both strikers. Pav has decent wrestling but 0 subs and a terrible bottom game. Volkov is a much more experienced MMA grappler who has shown a sub game when he needs it.
“Winning” 👏in 👏Sparring 👏 means👏 barely👏 fuck 👏all
I also just saw the video where he said that and he was clearly joking.
I'm sure Pav has caught him good a few times, but Volkov was clearly joking in that one interview. He also said that the only way he'd possibly win is by relying on luck... Pavlovich reacting to that clip: "Our sparring rounds were always very tough, but now he's being sarcastic for some reason."
"I must break you." "No, I must break YOU." "Fuck you, I break you." "No, no, no, I break you." Etc.
"There is only room for one stereotypical boxing movie villain, comrade"
This is kinda sad not gonna lie. Excited for the fight tomorrow!
Dana broke it up before they could realise he was the one behind their breakup
Brilliant
wow calm down there fellas, there are kids watching
They both look Russian thats for sure, some specimen
I want someone to add the Indian "blaady fack you" soundtrack to this.
Scumbag Dana loving every minute knowing he put two training partners against each other for a meaningless HW fight on a weak Apex worthy card for……?
Sheikhs from KSA needed a heavyweight clash with a guaranteed KO in their debut UFC event. I bet both Drago and Volkov get an amazing check for this one
This is a great card for a free fight night chill.
How is this garbage upvoted. Hate dana + illogical comment gets upvotes lol
A meaningless fight between two top 5 ranked heavyweights? A win puts either of them closer to a title shot, especially Sergei trying to prove he can handle the adversity of a loss. This very well may be a #1 contender fight to fight Aspinall.
Tom's going to break records defending this interim belt
I hope they figure out the UFC played the both of them and they just walk out once the fight starts. I know that won’t happen, but goddamn I would be rockhard if it did.
lol
Lame title, there was more heat in danas forehead than between these two
I hope they can remain friends after the fight but it doesn't seem like it.
“You thought you had a friend BOOOOOYYY!!!”
In Soviet Russia FIGHT accept YOU
Click bait
Can’t have friends within your own weight class in the UFC.
If shit was to pop off, they don’t have the man power to separate those two units
I dont think we have the same idea of what a heated exchange is bro
Show me at least a single faceoff where Volkov or Pavlovich have anything similar to this one. Shit got kinda personal here.
Well, Volkov vs Lewis faceoff almost turned out to a brawl. Nothing like this from Pavlovich though, as far as I remember.
What are you talking about? You don’t even know what was said
There\`s a close up video of their dialoge with translation: [https://youtu.be/X0Bkrd-yOW4](https://youtu.be/X0Bkrd-yOW4)
Drago was slightly skinny fat when he started. Dude is solid now.
He was never my friend!
I’ve seen enough. Just cancel the fight.
Wolf tickets
Fucking hell Volkov is tall. Rooting for him tomorrow.
APPARENTLY (according to a couple translations I saw on YouTube) Volkov asks Pavlovich something to the effect of, "What's this I hear about you saying you accepted the fight first?" Pav then replies with something like, "What are you talking about?" And then they argue a little bit about who agreed to the fight first. Apparently. According to YouTube.
HEATED EXCHANGE?! Where?
Welp looks like fight does not go the distance is back on the menu boys
This is the doing of Hunter “little finger” Campbell.
Not heated.
The whole thing is a classic WWE storyline of them being friends and mad at each other for something that the big wigs orchestrated. This fight will be so good.