In the interim heavyweight bout of the main card, Tom Aspinall quickly defeated Sergei Pavlovich by raining the latter punches, leading to a KO win.
The bout ended at just 1:09 of Round 1. With his latest win, Aspinall’s record is now 14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC, while Pavlovich has an 18-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC record.
Despite Pavlovich landing a combination during the early part of the bout, Aspinall snatched the title after sending a straight right hand to Pavlovich’s temple, causing the Russian opponent to drop. Referee Dan Miragliotta stopped the fight, translating to a fast win for Aspinall.
The victory is somehow expected, with many predictions earlier favoring the Briton. Commentator Michael Bisping repeatedly expressed confidence about the matter, saying the fellow countryman could make the win over Pavlovich appear “relatively easy.” If given the chance, the former MMA fighter believes that Aspianll could also beat Jon Jones in the future.
Prior to his success against the Russian, Aspinall explained how he would defeat the opponent.
“I think the biggest issue he’s got is I move unlike any other heavyweight,” said Aspinall earlier. “I do things completely different, completely unconventional to anyone else in the heavyweight division… I do multiple attacks, multiple fakes, I can grapple, I can strike, I can do all of it. He has no idea what I can really bring to the table.
“We’ve seen him minimal time on his back. From what I’ve seen, he hasn’t looked great, I’ll be honest. He got finished, he got knocked out from that start. But at the same time, this is heavyweight MMA…big guy like [Alistair Overeem] bringing down punches and elbows on you, it’s hard to get up. But if I put someone on their back, they’re getting finished.”
Unsurprisingly, the British fighter managed to turn his words into actions in this recent bout by taking down Pavlovich in Round 1.
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