Tallison Teixeira is no rush to enter the discussion for a shot at the UFC heavyweight belt but knows that facing off with top-ranked Sergei Pavlovich at this weekend’s UFC Macau could speed things up regardless. Either way, “Xicao” said he’s interested in taking on another Russian talent before being in the title mix.
In July 2025, when he was still undefeated in the sport and 1-0 in the UFC after demolishing Justin Tafa in 35 seconds, Teixeira told Pavlovich’s teammate Valter Walker during a chat
at Sexto Round that he was confident in a victory if matched up against Pavlovich. A year later, having lost his next fight to Derrick Lewis — also in 35 seconds — and beaten Tai Tuivasa next, he has the chance to back that up.
“I see it in a more grounded way now,” Teixeira told MMA Fighting. “I still see him as a really tough guy. Back then I said that ‘if I’m well prepared [I could beat him]’ because I knew he was a very difficult opponent [laughs]. But not much has changed for me. I still see him as a very dangerous guy, someone I need to be extremely well prepared to fight, 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.”
Pavlovich was coming off a decision win over Jairzinho Rozenstruik at the time, rebounding from back-to-back losses to Tom Aspinall and Alexander Volkov, and went on to win another decision a month later against Waldo Cortes-Acosta. Pavlovich is still dangerous, Teixeira said, but might be a different athlete now that he’s entering the octagon after three straight decisions compared to the man that won six first-round knockouts in a row between 2019 and 2023.
“Of course, when it’s time for our fight, he might go crazy like he used to, come forward recklessly and throw everything into that one punch and try to finish the fight right away,” Teixeira said. “It’s a very unpredictable matchup. I trained for that possibility, but I also trained in case he takes a more measured approach, slows the fight down, and tries to win on points. I truly believe I’m very well prepared.”
“I see myself getting a finish,” he added. “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. But I do see a finish.”
Finishing a top-ranked foe in Pavlovich would likely make the Brazilian a top-10 heavyweight.
“Even if I beat him, I don’t think I’d immediately be in the title conversation,” Teixeira said. “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.”
With the heavyweight title picture confusing at the moment, Alex Pereira battling Ciryl Gane for the interim belt while Aspinall recovers from a serious eye injury, “Xicao” names Volkov as the ideal opponent for his next step if victorious against Pavlovich.
“Maybe a fight with Volkov next would make sense,” Teixeira said. “Two Russians in a row? That would be funny.”
Volkov was victorious in six of his past seven trips to the octagon, the only blemish being a controversial split decision loss to Gane. He’s coming off decisions over Jailton Almeida and Cortes-Acosta, both fights being highly criticized by fans, and Teixeira said he would be far more confident against him.
“I actually think that fight would be easier than the Sergei fight,” Teixeira said. “I really believe that. Maybe because Volkov is such a big guy, I think I’d have an easier time working against someone like that because it’s more similar to my style. And I’m also very good at closing the distance. I was even training with one of Plinio’s guys who’s bigger than me.
“If you know how to close the distance and manage it well, even if you’re shorter and have less reach, it can work. So I don’t think fighting Volkov would be much different. Obviously, Volkov is tough and dangerous, but comparatively speaking, I think Sergei brings more risk than Volkov does.”
Teixeira has trained with “Poatan” Pereira and Glover Teixeira in Danbury for his upcoming fight in China and said it has helped him to not only prepare for Pavlovich, but also evolve as a true martial artist.
“The most dangerous fight is always the next one and this time is no different,” Teixeira said. “It was great coming here to train with Alex because he’s such an experienced guy with so many striking fights under his belt. Every day you learn something from him. And Glover gave me a lot of great insight on the grappling side. Also in the striking, movement and everything, especially cage work.
“I was actually talking to Glover about this. I don’t have the same jiu-jitsu I used to have anymore, but I also don’t yet have that truly effective MMA jiu-jitsu. I’m somewhere in the middle right now. I’m still evolving toward having really effective jiu-jitsu for MMA, but that’s something that takes time to develop. And when Glover trains with us, the pressure he puts on is insane. One thing I really like about him is that he doesn’t want you to copy his style. He looks at what you already do well, what you need to improve, and then adds details to sharpen your own game. I think that’s really interesting. He doesn’t want you to fight exactly the way he fought.”
Teixeira joked that “a lot of people are going say it’s my cardio” that needs the most improvement after his latest UFC fight, a 15-minute decision against Tuivasa, but explained what caused him to get so tired that night in Sydney.
“I think it was much more about the adrenaline draining me that night,” Teixeira said. “Before the fight, I even told my coach, ‘I think I should stop warming up because my heart is racing too much. My gas tank is already going away’ [laughs]. Time zone changes, coming off a loss, fighting in the other guy’s hometown, there’s extra pressure. And Tuivasa is a tough guy. He’s hard to knock out. He’s got an iron chin. Even in the last second of a round he still wants to stand there and trade punches with you. I knew it was going to be a tough fight, and it was, but I saw details I can improve on.”
