![Sergei Pavlovich (left) and Alexander Volkov (right) have been officially announced for June 22 [Photo Courtesy @americantopteam and @volkov_alex on Instagram]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/04/5b118-17137292152106-1920.jpg)
![Sergei Pavlovich (left) and Alexander Volkov (right) have been officially announced for June 22 [Photo Courtesy @americantopteam and @volkov_alex on Instagram]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http%3A//www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20xmlns%3Axlink='http%3A//www.w3.org/1999/xlink'%20viewBox='0%200%2010%206.25'%3E%3Cfilter%20id='b'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20stdDeviation='.5'%3E%3C/feGaussianBlur%3E%3CfeComponentTransfer%3E%3CfeFuncA%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20type='discrete'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20tableValues='1%201'%3E%3C/feFuncA%3E%3C/feComponentTransfer%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20filter='url(%23b)'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
After the puzzling way that the matchup was put together, top-10 heavyweights Sergei Pavlovich and Alexander Volkov were officially announced by the UFC on April 21 as the co-main event of UFC Saudi Arabia.
As released on the UFC social media pages, the two Russian heavyweights will meet on June 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Fight Night card will be headlined by middleweights Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev, as announced earlier in April.
Reports of the matchup being worked on originated long before the official announcement but both fighters hesitated to face one another. Pavlovich and Volkov do not primarily train at the same gym but have become familiar with each other as two Russian heavyweights.
One fan wrote:
"Love this, find the best of the best, no friends in this game"
Fans quickly reacted to the post on X, recalling the oddity of the matchup but still referencing it as a "banger." One fan commented:
"This an absolute banger! Looking forward to Pavlovich's return"
Other fans commented:
"Y'all really forced Volkov to fight his homie, crazy"
"Thought this already got announced?"
"UFC Saudi keeps getting better"
"Lol is it actually signed this time?"
View more fan reactions to Sergei Pavlovich vs. Alexander Volkov being confirmed for UFC Saudi Arabia below:
![Fans reacting to Sergei Pavlovich vs. Alexander Volkov announcement [via @ufc on X]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/04/61fa4-17137331415678-1920.jpg)
Why didn't Alexander Volkov want to fight Sergei Pavlovich?
When the UFC initially announced Sergei Pavlovich vs. Alexander Volkov, the no. 6-ranked contender came out to publicly declare he had no idea the fight was even being targeted. In an interview with Match TV, Volkov explained he did not want to fight Pavlovich but felt that he had no negotiation power with the UFC.
Volkov said that the UFC booked the fight after only receiving confirmation from Pavlovich's team, who said they would accept the matchup if 'Drago' complied. Volkov said he felt the UFC no longer allows him to decline matchups due to previously turning down fights with opponents he trained with, including Pavlovich.
Pavlovich did not have much to say on the matter but appeared to have a similar reaction to facing Volkov as his countryman.
