If you left your seat for a minute, you completely missed Sergei Pavlovich’s quick and powerful victory over Tallison Teixiera at UFC Macau.
The two stayed patient in the opening seconds, respecting one another’s power and trying to find an opening. When both of them started to let loose, however, it was Pavlovich who did the landing.
A pair of right hands stumbled Teixeira, causing Pavlovich to fire off a flurry, finishing Teixeira in just 39 seconds.
Pavlovich then used his post-fight interview to call for a title shot or a title eliminator.
Sergei Pavlovich KOs Tallison Texieira In Less Than A Minute At UFC Macau
SERGEI PAVLOVICH ONLY NEEDED 35 SECONDS 😨#UFCMacau
— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount) May 30, 2026
Pavlovich, who entered this fight ranked No. 3 at heavyweight in the UFC, has now won three straight. He entered this fight off a win over Waldo Cortes-Acosta in August.
Teixeira now falls to 9-2 and has lost two of his last three. He entered this fight off a decision win over Tai Tuivasa at UFC 324.
Segrei Pavlovich and Waldo Cortes-Acosta did not do much to raise the current reputation of the UFC’s heavyweight division at UFC Shanghai, though Pavlovich was able to easily get his hand raised.
The pair did a lot of circling during the opening frame, with Cortes-Acosta on the outside, both trying to feel the other’s power with jabs. After an accidental clash of heads, the two began to exchange. Pavlovich connected cleaning with less than two minutes left, briefly pushing Cortes-Acosta to the fence. Cortes-Acosta tried to get a rhythm going, mixing in low kicks with his punches, though Pavlovich caught him coming in again with an uppercut.
Pavlovich strung a few power shots together during the second round, including a right hand that stumbled Cortes-Acosta back. Cortes-Acosta tried to push the pace in the final minute of the frame, but Pavlovich seemed to remain the one landing the more effective strikes in their exchanges.
After some leg kick trading, Pavlovich landed a strong right hand that stumbled Cortes-Acosta back. A late combo from Pavlovich appeared to do damage, as did another right hand seconds later, but it wasn’t enough to get the finish.
Sergei Pavlovich Gets Nod Over Waldo Cortes-Acosta At UFC Shanghai
Feel like Sergei Pavlovich has lost that killer instinct he had since losing to Tom Aspinall. Seems to rock guys now but not go for the finish and is very reserved. #UFC
Pavlovich produced the only real offense in this fight. Cortes-Acosta seemed content throwing haymakers and showing he can take a punch for 15 minutes #UFCShanghai
Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall was among those unimpressed by Sergei Pavlovich’s decision win over Jairzinho Rozenstruik this past Saturday.
While the crowd inside the anb Arena anticipated a knockout, they were instead treated to three rounds of lackluster action between the Russian and Surinamese behemoths, with the former emerging victorious on the scorecards.
Aspinall took to his Instagram Stories to slam his former opponent and “Bigi Boy,” before calling for his return in order to bring “excitement” back to the weight class.
“These heavyweight fights lately absolutely stink,” Aspinall wrote. “Let’s get some excitement back and stop holding it up.”
Aspinall has held the interim belt since a first-round knockout triumph over Pavlovich in November 2023. He’s since defended it in a rematch with Curtis Blaydes, which he also won by way of stoppage in the opening frame.
All the while, Jon Jones has sat on the heavyweight throne and repeatedly dismissed a unification showdown, instead choosing to face Stipe Miocic last November in New York City.
Early on at UFC Saudi Arabia, we witnessed what happens when there is a heavyweight highlight thanks to Shamil Gaziev’s first-round knockout of Thomas Petersen. Ranked contenders Sergei Pavlovich and Jairzinho Rozenstruik, however, provided the polar opposite of such an outing during the main card portion of the evening.
Both fighters took a patient approach, with neither man looking to pull the trigger and go to the next level. While Pavlovich landed the bigger shots, he did not connect with anything that would wobble and trouble Rozenstruik.
The former interim title challenger instead took “Bigi Boy” down, with his top control leading him to sweeping the judges’ scorecards.
Sergei Pavlovich Scores Decision Win In Snoozefest At UFC Saudi Arabia
UFC heavyweight contender Sergei Pavlovich will have the chance for redemption when he returns to Saudi Arabia early next year.
Pavlovich (18-3) fell to the first losing skid of his career last time out in Riyadh, where his former training partner Alexander Volkov stifled his power en route to a comfortable unanimous decision victory.
With that, the Russian’s streak of six straight first-round finishes and impressive performance against Curtis Blaydes have become a distant memory. But, he will look to change that and remind the division of his brutal power in 2025.
Per MMA Mania’s Alex Behunin, the #4-ranked contender will return to the Kingdom Arena on Feb. 1, 2025, this time to throw down with Jairzinho Rozenstruik (15-5).
🚨Fight News🚨
Sergei Pavlovich vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik booked for UFC Saudi Arabia on Feb. 1, 2025, per sources
While Pavlovich will ride a losing skid into the contest, Rozenstruik is currently on his first win streak since having his undefeated record blemished by Francis Ngannou back in May 2020.
“Bigi Boy” went on an inconsistent run in the years that followed before finally stringing together wins this year with a knockout triumph over Shamil Gaziev and split decision against Tai Tuivasa.
Having cemented his spot inside the heavyweight top 10 in 2024, the Surinamese knockout artist will have the chance to return to title contention with a big performance opposite Pavlovich in Saudi Arabia.
The Brit briefly shared the cage with Curtis Blaydes in London two years ago, with their UFC Fight Night main event lasting just 15 seconds before Aspinall suffered a freak knee injury.
Aspinall Full Of Self-Belief After Pulling Off UFC Title Win In ‘Worst Circumstances’
During a recent interview with Karyn Bryant, Rashad Evans, and Alan Jouban for ESPN MMA, Aspinall looked ahead to his upcoming defense of the interim title and second dance in the cage with Blaydes.
When it comes to his evolution as a fighter since their first clash in 2022, Aspinall believes the differences are night and day. That includes when it comes to confidence, in large part down to how the Brit was able to dispatch Sergei Pavlovich in less than ideal circumstances eight months ago.
“(I’ve improved) absolutely everywhere (since the first fight against Blaydes),” Aspinall said. “Every fight is different anyway, but I think now, everything is way different about me. Especially after my last performance; I took so much confidence from that. I took the fight on short notice, I took the fight injured, and I still managed to pull it off in the worst circumstances. Feeling pretty confident after that one, feeling pretty good.”
Aspinall will look to prove as much by having his hand raised on home soil this Saturday, avenging his unfortunate setback opposite “Razor” and maintaining his grip on the interim heavyweight gold in the process.
His defense will mark the first of two championship rematches set for UFC 304, with fellow UK titleholder Leon Edwards running it back with Belal Muhammad in defense of his welterweight strap.
Manchester, are you ready??#UFC304 fight week is HERE 👊
The pair first collided at a London-held UFC Fight Night back in the summer of 2021. The bout lasted just 15 seconds, with a devastating knee injury suffered by Aspinall bringing it to a premature end and handing the Brit his first Octagon setback.
Aspinall has since rebounded in a major way, first by getting the better of Marcin Tybura last July and then by capturing interim UFC gold in a short-notice clash with Sergei Pavlovich four months later.
After an injury to Jon Jones saw his planned heavyweight defense against Stipe Miocic off the UFC 295 card, Aspinall stepped up to meet the original backup fighter at Madison Square Garden.
Despite a lack of preparation and not being at full fitness, the Englishman closed the show in just over a minute, stopping his Russian counterpart by way of knockout to have a UFC title wrapped around his waist.
Ahead of Saturday’s event, the promotion has released the full Aspinall vs. Pavlovich fight from UFC 295 on its official YouTube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1-hFm-a_N4
Aspinall will hope to repeat that performance at the expense of Blaydes this weekend.
