Tuivasa vs Volkov

Who won Tuivasa vs Volkov?

Alexander Volkov beat Tai Tuivasa by submission in the 2nd round during the co-main event of UFC 293, on Saturday 9th September 2023 at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Heavyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 265 pounds (18.9 stone or 120.2 KG).

Tuivasa vs Volkov stats

Tai Tuivasa stepped into the octagon with a record of 14 wins, 5 losses and 0 draws, 13 of those wins coming by the way of knock out.

Alexander Volkov made his way to the cage with a record of 36 wins, 10 losses and 0 draws, 24 of those wins coming by knock out and 3 by submission.

This was Tai Tuivasa's 16th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2017. Alexander Volkov marked his 17th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2016.

Tai Tuivasa's UFC record stood at 8-8-0, while Alexander Volkov's came in at 12-5-0.

The stats suggested Tuivasa had a large advantage in power over Volkov, boasting a 93% knock out percentage over Volkov's 67%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Volkov had a slight advantage over Tuivasa, with a 8% submission rate over Tuivasa's 0%.

Tai Tuivasa was the younger man by 4 years, at 32 years old.

Volkov had a height advantage of 5 inches over Tuivasa. That also extended to a 6-inch reach advantage.

Tuivasa was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 27 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2012, 3 years and 2 months later than Volkov, whose first professional fight was in 2009. He had fought 70 less professional rounds, 35 to Volkov's 105.

Tuivasa vs Volkov form

Tai Tuivasa had stopped 3 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had lost to Sergei Pavlovich at UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Holland on 3rd December 2022 by knockout in the 1st round at Amway Center, Orlando, United States.

Previous to that, he had been beaten by Ciryl Gane at UFC Fight Night Paris on 3rd September 2022 by knockout in the 3rd round at Accor Arena, Paris, France.

Going into that contest, he had won against Derrick Lewis at UFC 271 on 12th February 2022 by knockout in the 2nd round at Toyota Center, Houston, United States.

Before that, he had beaten Augusto Sakai at UFC 269 on 11th December 2021 by knockout in the 2nd round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

He had defeated Greg Hardy at UFC 264 on 10th July 2021 by knockout in the 1st round at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

Volkov had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going the distance once.

In his last fight before this contest, he was victorious against Alexander Romanov at UFC Fight Night: Yan vs. Dvalishvili on 11th March 2023 by knockout in the 1st round at The Theater at Virgin Hotels, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had won against Jairzinho Rozenstruik at UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Rozenstruik on 4th June 2022 by knockout in the 1st round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Going into that contest, he had been defeated by Tom Aspinall at UFC Fight Night London on 19th March 2022 by submission in the 1st round at 02 Arena, London, United Kingdom.

Before that, he had beaten Marcin Tybura at UFC 267 on 30th October 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest.

He had lost to Ciryl Gane at UFC Vegas 30 on 26th June 2021 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas, United States.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Tai Tuivasa had been fighting more than Alexander Volkov.

Going to this contest, Tai Tuivasa had last fought 2 years, 5 months and 4 days ago, while Alexander Volkov's last outing had been 2 years, 1 month and 26 days ago.

Tuivasa's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 9 months and 27 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 9 months and 6 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 9 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 1.8 rounds on average.

Volkov's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 10 months and 11 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 9 months and 9 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 11 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.2 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Tuivasa vs Volkov?

Tai Tuivasa was a 37/20 (+190) underdog going into the contest, while Alexander Volkov made his way into the ring at 11/25 (-230) with oddsmakers.