Teixeira targets Volkov after Pavlovich at UFC Macau: 'Two Russians in a row would be funny'

Tallison Teixeira steps into the octagon against top-ranked Sergei Pavlovich at UFC Macau this weekend with a clear roadmap in mind: finish the Russian, target Alexander Volkov next, and only then start thinking about a heavyweight title shot.

Teixeira, known as “Xicao”, has gone 1-1 in his last two UFC bouts — a 35-second demolition of Tai Tuivasa following a 35-second loss to Derrick Lewis — and sees the Pavlovich fight as the next step in a deliberate climb rather than a shortcut to the belt.

“Even if I beat him, I don’t think I’d immediately be in the title conversation,” Teixeira told MMA Fighting. “Honestly, I don’t even want that yet. I think I still need one or two more fights before getting into that discussion. But it would put me in the top 5, maybe top 3.”

Teixeira first publicly backed himself against Pavlovich in July 2025, when he was still undefeated and fresh off his UFC debut. He stands by that assessment now, though with more nuance. Pavlovich has moved away from the run of six first-round knockouts he posted between 2019 and 2023, instead collecting three consecutive decision wins — most recently against Waldo Cortes-Acosta — following back-to-back losses to Tom Aspinall and Alexander Volkov.

“I still see him as a very dangerous guy, someone I need to be extremely well prepared to fight,” Teixeira said. “But I think he’s lost a bit of that momentum and aggression he used to have, and I think that can work in my favor.”

Teixeira has prepared for both versions of Pavlovich — the reckless finisher and the measured points-fighter — and says he expects to get a stoppage, if not in the opening round.

“I see myself getting a finish. Maybe not in the first round, but I want to hurt him little by little, touching him up, damaging him, breaking that aura even more.”

Should he get past Pavlovich, Teixeira has a specific name in mind for what would be an unusual back-to-back run. “Two Russians in a row? That would be funny,” he said of a potential matchup with Volkov.

The broader heavyweight title picture adds context to Teixeira’s patience. With Tom Aspinall sidelined by a serious eye injury and Alex Pereira set to fight Ciryl Gane for an interim belt, the division’s hierarchy remains unsettled — which makes Teixeira’s measured approach to his own ranking all the more deliberate.