From Russia With Knockouts: The Heavyweight Phenom Shaking up the UFC

Getty Sergei Pavlovich

Sergei Pavlovich has been making big waves in the UFC‘s heavyweight division. Despite facing a setback with his first defeat against Alistair Overeem in 2018, Pavlovich has been on a roll ever since.

The Russian fighter has been on a demolition spree since the defeat, dispatching five opponents with impressive knockouts, all within the first round. Notably, since his loss, Pavlovich has accumulated a total fight time of just eight minutes and 29 seconds, proving himself as one of the most devastating strikers on the roster.

With a decisive victory over Curtis “Razor” Blaydes on April 22, No. 3 ranked Pavlovich eyes a title shot against the UFC heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones. Pavlovich also served as the backup fighter for the main event of UFC 285 between Ciryl Gane and Jones.

Fighter Profile: Sergei Pavlovich

The antithesis of the typical heavyweight slugger, Pavlovich opts to use powerful, accurate, straight punches down the center line, rather than shifting all of his weight into looping hooks. This style of fighting suits Pavlovich’s unique physicality.

Standing at 6’3″ and with an arm span of 84″, Pavlovich possesses the largest “ape index” in the UFC, with Jones as a close second (6’4″, 84.5″ reach). This physical gift lends itself to Pavlovich’s boxing, and UFC heavyweights struggle to cope.

Pavlovich trained in Greco-Roman Wrestling until the 11th grade under the tutelage of Alexander Fedorovich Aloyan before serving in the Russian army.

In the army, Pavlovich trained in Armeyskiy Rukopashniy Boy (ARB), which translates to ‘Army hand-to-hand combat’, and is a martial art rooted in Sambo, Wrestling, Judo, Karate, and Boxing. It was only after the army that Pavlovich returned to Moscow and started considering MMA.

Despite his wrestling background, Not once has Pavlovich attempted a takedown in his UFC tenure. Pavlovich has also never attempted a submission, and has never left the first round of a UFC fight.

UFC Career Overview: Sergei Pavlovich

After losing his UFC debut to Overeem, Pavlovich returned to form with a one-minute knockout of Marcelo Golm at UFC on ESPN+ 7 on April 20, 2019. Six months later, Pavlovich finished Maurice Green in just over two minutes at UFC on ESPN+ 20.

Back-to-back cancellations via injuries and Visa issues pulled Pavlovich out of fights with Gane, Tom Aspinall, and Tanner Boser, forcing the Russian to remain inactive for 2020 and 2021.

Pavlovich returned with a KO over Shamil Abdurakhimov at UFC London on March 19, 2022.

After a quick four-month turnaround, Pavlovich shocked fight fans again by demolishing Derrick Lewis in less than a minute at UFC 277, though the stoppage was highly contested.

Pavlovich appeared as the betting favorite against Tai Tuivasa on the main card of UFC Orlando on December 3, 2022. The Russian slugger picked up another KO victory, dispatching Tuivasa 55 seconds into the first round.

On April 22, Pavlovich is set to face the No. 4 ranked heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes. Pavlovich opens as the betting underdog in this matchup. Blaydes is coming off of an upset 15-second victory over Tom Aspinall after the latter fighter tore their MCL, ACL, and meniscus. Prior to this, Blaydes dominated Chris Daukaus and Jairzinho Rozenstruik.