Tallison Teixeira is set to face Sergei Pavlovich at UFC Macau this weekend, and he already has a next step in mind if he gets through it. The unbeaten heavyweight said Alexander Volkov would make sense as his follow-up opponent, even if he is not rushing to talk about a title shot just yet.
That makes this bout matter now because it could push Teixeira toward the top 10 and maybe higher, depending on how he handles one of the division’s most dangerous names. Pavlovich was once known for six straight first-round knockouts between 2019 and 2023, and Teixeira still remembers the version that came after him earlier in the year: a fighter coming off decisions, not the marauding finisher who used to erase opponents in minutes.
Teixeira’s own path has been uneven but informative. He beat Justin Tafa in 35 seconds, then lost to Derrick Lewis in 35 seconds, then regrouped with a win over Tai Tuivasa. Now he says he sees Pavlovich in a more grounded way than before, while still respecting the threat. “I still see him as a really tough guy,” Teixeira said, adding that if he is well prepared he believes he can beat him. He also said Pavlovich has lost a bit of the momentum and aggression he used to have, and that if the Russian comes out wild again, Teixeira expects him to swing hard and try to end it early.
That confidence comes with a plan, not a guarantee. Teixeira said he sees a finish, but not necessarily in the first round, and wants to damage Pavlovich little by little until the aura breaks. The approach fits a fighter who has learned what short nights can do to a resume. It also fits the moment in the heavyweight division, where one win can change the conversation without settling it.
Teixeira is not pretending otherwise. Even if he beats Pavlovich, he said he would not immediately belong in the title discussion and does not want that yet. He said he likely still needs one or two more fights before he gets there, which is why Volkov stands out as the clean next step. Teixeira said, “Maybe a fight with Volkov next would make sense,” and even laughed at the idea of “two Russians in a row,” calling it funny. He went further, saying he would be far more confident against Volkov and that he actually thinks that fight would be easier than the Sergei fight.
That is the friction inside the matchup: Volkov has won six of his past seven trips to the octagon, with only a controversial split decision loss to Gane interrupting the run, and he is coming off decisions over Jailton Almeida and Waldo Cortes-Acosta. Teixeira’s read is the opposite of what the records suggest, which is exactly why UFC Macau has become more than a single heavyweight booking. If he beats Pavlovich, he will have earned both the result and the argument for what comes next.
