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 there was no weight limit.

Tuivasa vs Volkov stats

Tai Tuivasa stepped into the octagon with a record of 14 wins, 5 loses 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 loses and 0 draws, with 24 of those wins by knock out and 3 by submission.

The stats suggested Tuivasa had a large advantage in power over Volkov, boasting at 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 30 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 year and 2 months later than Volkov, whose first professional fight was in 2009. He had fought 68 less professional rounds, 31 to Volkov's 99.

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 defeated 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 beat Augusto Sakai at UFC 269 on 11th December 2021 by knockout in the 2nd round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

He had won against 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 had beat 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 beat 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 lost to 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 defeated Marcin Tybura at UFC 267 on 30th October 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest.

He had been beaten by 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 9 months and 22 days ago, while Alexander Volkov's last outing had been 6 months and 14 days ago.

Tuivasa's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 2 months and 15 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 5 months and 10 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 2 years, 2 months and 30 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 5 months and 13 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.