Over the past five years, Sergey Pavlovich has gone from a fighter who suffered a crushing defeat in his debut fight in the UFC to the star of the promotion and one of the most intimidating athletes in mixed martial arts. Six consecutive first-round wins not only helped him reach the top of the heavyweight rankings, but also became one of the top contenders for the title. And he had to take the next step towards greatness at a historic tournament in New York, held on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the first championship show in history.
And although nominally the fight between Pavlovich and Tom Aspinall was not listed as the main one at UFC 295, it was the main attention in the world of MMA. This confrontation was hotly discussed by Daniel Cormier and Michael Bisping, and a special appeal to the challenger from Great Britain was recorded not only by the legendary fighter Georges St-Pierre, but also by the famous chef Gordon Ramsay. Russian stars did not stand aside either. Bellator champion Vadim Nemkov admitted that he was waiting for the triumph of his compatriot, and two-time gold medalist of the European Judo Championship Daria Kurbonmamadova called him "a real beast" and wished to knock out his vis-à-vis in the opening five minutes.
And at times, it seemed as if even the battle for the trophy in the middle category, where Jiri Prochazka and Alex Pereira were going to sort things out, faded into the background. If the organizers had changed the places of these duels, it is unlikely that anyone would have been dissatisfied. But the lack of a major title at stake could be one of the reasons why they did not take this step. However, this did not affect the level of prestige of the battle between the Russian and the Briton.
As for the rest, the program of the show in New York was not the richest in bright fights. And this was especially true of the preliminary one, where the only thing that stood out against the general background was the fight between Vyacheslav Borshchev and Nazim Sadikhov, which promised to be extremely interesting. The Russian has always been famous for his bright style, and the Azerbaijani was on a series of nine victories, and only one of them was not won ahead of schedule.
And although the athletes did not knock out or surrender, they still stood out against the general background. After all, it was only in their duel that the winner was not determined. It ended in a draw by majority decision. In the first and third rounds, Borshchev noticeably surpassed his opponent in the standing position, which was confirmed by the ratio of significant punches (114:52). But all his efforts were canceled out by the failure in the second. Vyacheslav was knocked down, and then several more times he was one step away from a fiasco. And he couldn't extend the successful streak. Two representatives of the jury determined a draw, so the opinion of the third one no longer mattered.
The main program of UFC 295 began with a series of spectacular early victories. First, Diego Lopez put Pat Sabatini on the canvas, and then Benoît Saint-Denis and Jessica Andrade followed suit. And the Frenchman did it especially spectacularly, hitting Matt Frevola with a crushing left high-kick.
After that, Pavlovich and Aspinall finally entered the cage. And there was such tension in the air that even the legendary announcer Bruce Baffer made a mistake during the announcement, naming the angle of the Englishman incorrectly. However, it was quickly corrected. But the athletes themselves very quickly defused the atmosphere, embracing in the center of the octagon.
However, after the gong rang, the friendship was quickly forgotten. Aspinall immediately tested Pavlovich's ability to keep his balance by hitting him with a nasty low kick. And then I tried to download the case of the Russian, but it didn't hit. But he got the opportunity to test the power of the enemy on himself. If Sergey missed the target with his right straight, then the left hook hit Tom's head. And shook him a little.
Perhaps it was after this that Pavlovich believed in himself too much and began to recklessly move forward. And it was not easy to resist this temptation. Aspinall seemed to feel uncomfortable and began to retreat more and more, responding only with occasional kicks to the legs. But that was a delusion. The Englishman managed to lull the Russian's vigilance, and then use one of his main qualities - speed unusual for a heavyweight.
Pavlovich was clearly not ready for the striking overhand. The first hit to the temple knocked him off balance, and the second caused him to fall. Aspinall rushed forward and added a few more hammerfists to finish it off. One of the most anticipated battles of the year lasted only 69 seconds.
During the announcement of the winner, Aspinall could not contain his emotions and cried. And when he came to his senses, he first spoke highly of Pavlovich, and then turned to his father, dedicating this trophy to him. Sergey, on the other hand, did not stay for the flash interview, hastily leaving the arena. And it is possible to understand his decision. After all, he has just lost one of the most important fights in his career and the first since 2018.
Unlike the heavyweights, the representatives of the division under 93 kg did not solve all the issues in the first two minutes of the fight. Although it seemed that an early stop could very well happen. Pereira immediately began to attack Prochazka's left leg and almost deprived him of the ability to move - so tough were the low kicks. And then he also managed to catch the ex-champion on the guillotine. But he did not give up, but knocked the Brazilian to the floor and there he scored several good hits in the referee's position. And he slightly brightened up the impression of his failure in the starting segment.
After the break, things were still not going well for Prochazka in the standing position. Pereira looked more confident: he continued to "smash" his opponent's left leg and gradually began to work on other "floors". In one of the episodes, he annoyed his vis-à-vis with an extremely unpleasant high-kick, and then forced him to change his stance again in order to protect his injured ankle.
But Prochazka wouldn't have been a champion if he hadn't found the strength to turn the tide of the game. With a couple of hard hooks, the Czech got the Brazilian, after which he drove him to the net and began to beat him. At one point, it seemed as if Pereira was about to fall, but he miraculously managed to "wait out the storm" and resist.
The denouement turned out to be extremely unexpected and will obviously be discussed for more than one week. Inspired, Prochazka did not stop pressing Pereira and shook him again with a right cross, but at one point he forgot about caution - he ran into an oncoming left hook and collapsed on the canvas. Alex rushed to finish off his opponent and punched him several times exactly in the temple, to which the referee Mark Goddard instantly reacted and stopped the fight. But he was in a hurry.
Of course, there's no denying the fact that Prochazka was a couple of heavy punches away from a deep knockout. And the judge could have had reason to intervene and protect his health. But he had already come out of more difficult situations before, and even here he made it clear that he clearly had the strength to fight further. It is enough to see how quickly he sprang to his feet and how confidently he stood on them.
In any case, it was impossible to resume the battle. Pereira inflicted his first defeat on Prochazka since 2015 and won the light heavyweight title, becoming the ninth UFC champion in two divisions in history. Previously, only legends such as Randy Couture, B.J. Penn, Conor McGregor, Georges St-Pierre, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunez, Henry Cejudo and Jon Jones had managed to do it.