Russian fighter, Sergei Pavlovich, is preparing to face Tom Aspinall for the interim Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight title in a co-main event at UFC 295 held at Madison Square Garden, New York. Standing at 6-foot-3, 260-pound, 31-year-old Pavlovich enters this fight with a six-match winning streak, bringing his overall performance to an impressive 18-1. As a prized fighter from Eagles MMA, he has rendered 15 out of his 18 professional victories as knockouts or technical knockouts, five of which were achieved in less than sixty seconds.
Pavlovich’s initial claim to fame was the inaugural Fight Nights Global heavyweight championship, which he won against Mikhail Mokhnatkin in the FNG 68 headliner on June 2, 2017, at the Yubileyny Sports Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia. Later, he made his mark in UFC when he faced former Dream and Strikeforce champion Alistair Overeem at UFC Fight Night 141 held on Nov. 24, 2018, at Cadillac Arena in Beijing. This match ended prematurely in the first round when Overeem unleashed a series of kins to the body, leaving Pavlovich unable to return the strikes.
In his comeback fight, Pavlovich proved his place among the UFC heavyweight division by ending his fight against Marcelo Golm in a mere 66 seconds at UFC Fight Night 149 on April 20, 2019. His first appearance after a hiatus of two years saw him knockout Shamil Abdurakhimov in the undercard of UFC Fight Night 204 on March 19, 2022. Lastly, he ascended to true title contender status by defeating Curtis Blaydes in just 3 min 8 seconds of the first round in their UFC Fight Night 222 headliner on April 22, 2023, held at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.