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

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 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.

Previous to that, he had won against Alistair Overeem at UFC Vegas 18 on 6th February 2021 by knockout in the 2nd round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Walt Harris at UFC 254 on 24th October 2020 by knockout in the 2nd round at UFC Fight Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Before that, he had been beaten by Curtis Blaydes at UFC Vegas 3 on 20th June 2020 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas, United States.

He had defeated Greg Hardy at UFC on ESPN+ 21 on 9th November 2019 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at CSKA Arena, Moscow, Russia.

Activity check

Volkov's last 5 fights had come over a period of 5 years, 4 months and 18 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year and 28 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 17 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3.4 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.