"Thought that was Brock" - Dillon Danis and MMA community react to Sergei Pavlovich's ripped physique ahead of UFC Saudi Arabia

Russian heavyweight knockout artist Sergei Pavlovich is looking massive ahead of his bout with fellow countryman Alexander Volkov at UFC Saudi Arabia this weekend. Pavlovich, who holds the record in the UFC for the most consecutive first-round knockouts with six, shared his official pre-fight photoshoot. He's looking like The Hulk's European son.

Here are the photos posted by ESPN MMA on Instagram:

Fans are reacting to this series of photos in the comments section, with notable social media personality and former MMA fighter Dillon Danis saying:

"Thought that was Brock [Lesnar]"

Dillon Danis' comment on Pavlovich's photos. [Image credit: @espnMMA on Instagram]

Another fan, who goes by @dandikaprastya, said:

"People are sleeping on this fight even though it's a banger, and even the pinkhead isn't promoting this fight but is instead promoting the Dagestani fighter."

Fan comment on Pavlovich's photos. [Image credit: @espnMMA on Instagram]

Here are more comments:

Fan comments on Sergei Pavlovich's photos. [Image credit: @espnMMA on Instagram]

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Sergei Pavlovich's team was unaware they were fighting Alexander Volkov upon fight announcement

It seems Sergei Pavlovich and Alexander Volkov will have to set their friendship aside once they lock horns this weekend. The pair of Russian fighters have publicly made it known that they prefer not to fight each other, with Volkov openly discussing it with Match TV.

Here's a quote from the interview as posted by Championship Rounds on X:

"I found out about this fight when it was already announced... the UFC, as I understand it, received a 'yes' from Sergei Pavlovich’s team, because they replied that they would agree if I agreed. As far as I understand, this card is important for the UFC and Dana White, so few people asked my consent here...I already had to turn down several fights because I didn’t want to fight with my compatriots whom I trained with... My limits on refusals in the eyes of the UFC, unfortunately, are gone."

As for Pavlovich, he and his team admit to being unaware they were fighting Volkov until the fight was made official. It seems they didn't have 'Drago' in their list of prospective opponents.

Red Fury MMA made a report on the matter, saying:

"Sergei Pavlovich's team, as well as Alexander Volkov's team, are surprised by the official announcement from UFC about the fight with each other in Saudi Arabia [Translated from Russian]"