Sergei Pavlovich will wait to ensure his next fight is against Jon Jones or Stipe Miocic for the UFC heavyweight championship.
On April 22, Pavlovich made a statement by taking out Curtis Blaydes in the UFC Vegas 71 main event. The Russian’s TKO against Blaydes was his sixth consecutive win, all by first-round KO/TKO. Now that he’s defeated a top-five opponent, there is a solid argument that the former Fight Night Global heavyweight champion deserves a UFC title shot.
During the UFC Vegas 71 post-fight press conference, Pavlovich was asked about potentially waiting to fight the winner of Miocic and Jones for the heavyweight throne. He responded by saying:
“I’ll rest. I’ll eat. I’ll sleep. I’ll rest some more. I’ll wait.”
At UFC 285, Jones returned to the Octagon after a three-year layoff and dominated Ciryl Gane to secure the vacant heavyweight championship. He called out Miocic, a former UFC champion who hasn’t fought since losing against Francis Ngannou in March 2021. They are expected to fight later this year.
Watch Sergei Pavlovich’s post-fight press conference below:
Sergei Pavlovich doesn’t have a preference between Stipe Miocic or Jon Jones
Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic offer Sergei Pavlovich several challenges in a potential championship fight. Firstly, both fighters have plenty of five-round experience, which Pavlovich hasn’t dealt with since 2017. Secondly, Jones and Miocic have the fight IQ to mix in their grappling skills, unlike Curtis Blaydes was able to do.
During the same post-fight press conference, Pavlovich had this to say about if he has a preference between fighting Jones or Miocic:
“I wouldn’t say that either of them would be an easy fight. I mean, they’re both hard warriors so I would have to prepare for whoever it is then be ready for whoever they give me.”
Pavlovich made his UFC debut in November 2018 after winning his first twelve professional MMA fights. Things didn’t go as planned in his first Octagon appearance, leading to a first-round TKO loss against Alistair Overeem. Since then, the Russian has been nearly unstoppable, winning six consecutive fights by first-round KO/TKO.
Pavlovich now waits for his opportunity to become the UFC heavyweight champion after taking out Derrick Lewis, Tai Tuivasa, and Curtis Blaydes.
Sergei Pavlovich's power is on another level 👊
Is the title shot next after #UFCVegas71?? pic.twitter.com/EcX3Zsz3Ca
— UFC (@ufc) April 23, 2023
