Within the not too far off previous, Sergei Pavlovich was arguably probably the most feared fighter on your complete UFC roster. Overcoming a knockout defeat in his firm debut to Alistair Overeem, the Russian power-puncher rattled off six straight first spherical stoppages over the subsequent 5 years. This streak of highlight-reel finishes thrusted Pavlovich into his first UFC championship bout with the equally hard-hitting Tom Aspinall at UFC 295, who dusted Pavlovich in simply over a minute to grow to be the heavyweight interim champion.
Sergei Pavlovich Drops Struggle to Alexander Volkov
Within the wake of his first setback because the Overeem contest, Sergei Pavlovich (19-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) stepped again into the Octagon seven months later to fight fellow European competitor Alexander Volkov, who he skilled along with for just a few years at American High Staff. The pairing occurred at UFC on ABC 6, the place each males served because the co-main occasion of the promotion’s then newest expedition to the Center East.
After struggling his personal stoppage defeat to Aspinall, Volkov (38-11 MMA, 12-5 UFC) had launched into a brief however unimaginable three-fight win streak. Recording finishes in all of them, “Drago” introduced down a number of the most noteworthy contenders within the 265-lb division in Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Alexandr Romanov and Tai Tuivasa.
Though very well-known for his tendency to place his opponents out with a single shot, Sergei Pavlovich discovered himself having a supremely troublesome time connecting with a significant strike. Circling his adversary with a lot warning, Volkov rigorously averted most of Pavlovich’s massive punches whereas delivering stable counter photographs of his personal and touchdown kicks to the midsection.
This left the previous title challenger baffled and hopelessly chasing down Volkov for the whole thing of the combat, as he might do nothing about his superior footwork. Wanting like a bloody mess by the point it was over, Volkov ended up successful the match by unanimous resolution handy Sergei Pavlovich his second loss in a row.
Sergei Pavlovich Squares Off vs. Rozenstruik and Will get Hand Raised
Now within the midst of the primary two-fight skid of his skilled profession, Pavlovich was now even additional away from the UFC gold that he as soon as was so near greedy. Trying to bounce again, he made a essential card look at UFC Saudi Arabia simply this previous weekend, dealing with off with one other earlier American High Staff fitness center mate, Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
Rozenstruik (15-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) had been on a two-fight successful streak, with a end over then unranked prospect Shamil Gaziev and a controversial cut up resolution versus Tai Tuivasa.
Though he tends to maintain his fights on the ft, Sergei Pavlovich opted to make use of his wrestling to take his former teammate down repeatedly, racking up over six minutes of management time throughout the 15-minute affair. Whereas Rozenstruik did land a tough counter left in opposition to his foe, it was the Russian who scored the lone knockdown of the competition with a stable straight to ground the Suriname native.
Placing on his finest efficiency in a while, Sergei Pavlovich ended up getting his hand raised by unanimous resolution, getting himself again within the winner’s circle.
What’s Subsequent For Sergei Pavlovich?
Though Sergei Pavlovich finally snapped his shedding streak, the place he goes from here’s a bit unsure. At the moment, the title image at 265-lb is a bit murky, as interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall nonetheless must combat undisputed king Jon Jones.
Nonetheless, there’s nonetheless no phrase on that combat coming collectively on the time of this writing, that means the division is basically log jammed on the high whereas the highest contenders can solely look forward to an eventual title unification bout. Nonetheless, getting the victory final weekend was a should for Pavlovich, for he now has a declare to tackle one other high 5 member, and if he wins that bout, a second shot at UFC gold received’t be that distant.
