Sergei Pavlovich vs Tom Aspinall Preview & Picks
Tom Aspinall is tipped to win the interim heavyweight title.
Both men boast fight-stopping power and both have showcased their ability to finish fights quickly.
Aspinall is more accurate and harder to hit though, and he has the edge on the mat, where we expect him to take this fight.
- 10 of Tom Aspinall’s 13 career wins have been by stoppage
- 2 of Aspinall’s last 4 victories have been by submission
- 12 of Aspinall’s 13 career wins have come in the first round
- Sergei Pavlovich’s only career defeat came via stoppage
- Pavlovich’s last 8 fights have all ended inside one round
Sergei Pavlovich Form
Sergei Pavlovich is the #2 ranked heavyweight contender with an 18-1 career record (15 KOs).
Pavlovich did not make the best of starts to his UFC career as he was knocked out by Alistair Overeem in the first round.
He has rebounded since then though, winning six consecutive fights to catapult himself into title contention.
The 31-year-old Russia registered his first win when he knocked out Marcelo Golm in the first round, in April 2019, and a few months later he stopped Maurice Greene in just 131 seconds.
Pavlovich did not fight again until March of last year, but he made up for lost time by stopping Shamil Abdurakhimov in the opening round.
He then took just 55 seconds to knock out former title challenger Derrick Lewis, before finishing the year with a 54-second stoppage of Tai Tuivasa.
Pavlovich then took his win streak to six fights back in April when he took out Curtis Blaydes with strikes in just over three minutes.
Tom Aspinall Form
Tom Aspinall is the #4 ranked heavyweight contender with a career record of 13-3 (10 KOs, 3 Subs).
Aspinall made his UFC debut in July 2020 and got off to a flying start with first-round knockouts of Jake Collier and Alan Baudot.
He then recorded one of his biggest wins to date, tapping out former heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski in the second round.
The 30-year-old Englishman backed that up by stopping Sergei Spivac with strikes in only 150 seconds, and he then needed less than four minutes to submit Alexander Volkov.
That set up a huge fight with title implications, but Aspinall’s big night ended up being a nightmare.
He suffered a serious knee injury just 15 seconds into his fight with Curtis Blaydes in London, putting him on the sidelines for almost a year.
Aspinall finally made his long-awaited return in July though, and he made up for lost time by knocking out Marcin Tybura in 73 seconds.