No more slots for Sergei Pavlovich.
The Russian finishing machine stopped Curtis Blaydes last night (Sat., April 22, 2023) at UFC Vegas 71, which took place inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada (watch highlights). The brutal technical knockout was Pavlovich’s sixth in a row, a modern UFC record he continues to add to with each appearance.
But, before UFC Vegas 71 even started, former UFC fighter, Alan Jouban, shared a clip of Pavlovich playing some slots in his “Sin City” hotel.
.@SPavlovich13 not feeling the pressure of fight day! #ufcvegas71 pic.twitter.com/DFIYkquP1O
— Alan Jouban (@AlanJouban) April 22, 2023
During UFC Vegas 71’s post-fight press conference (watch here), the Russian fighter explained the clip that was circulating on the Internet.
“I mean to be honest, I’ve never gambled,” Pavlovich told MMAmania.com through a translator. “I’ve never played any of those things, and a buddy of mine was like, ‘here is 100 bucks — go play, try it, and see how you feel.’ And then somebody else shot the video, and now there you go.”
I asked Sergei Pavlovich about the clip of him playing slots before his fight pic.twitter.com/ONPuNqxynu
— Alex Behunin (@AlexBehunin) April 23, 2023
The 30-year-old revealed that he lost all of the money he was given.
“All right, I’ll tell you what happened,” Pavlovich said. “First, I won, and then I was thinking, ‘all right, maybe I’ll win some more.’ And then I lost everything.”
Cold Coffee followed up and got this explanation pic.twitter.com/Kquyx1LKL1
— Alex Behunin (@AlexBehunin) April 23, 2023
While Las Vegas swallowed him up and spat him out while playing slots, he got his revenge by picking up a “Performance of the Night” and more than likely earning the next shot at the Heavyweight title after Jon Jones and Stipe Mioicic fight later this year.
For complete UFC Vegas 71 results and coverage click here.