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Sergei Pavlovich unmoved by potential UFC title fight with Jon Jones next: ‘I don’t really think ahead’

Russian heavyweight knockout artist, Sergei Pavlovich appears to be fast-approaching his first title challenge under the UFC banner ahead of this weekend’s potential title-eliminator with Curtis Blaydes, however, claims he is not up in arms regarding a potential fight with Jon Jones next. Pavlovich, the current #3 ranked heavyweight contender, returns to the Octagon this […]

Pavlovich, the current #3 ranked heavyweight contender, returns to the Octagon this weekend in his first main event bout under the promotion’s banner – taking on streaking division contender, Blaydes.

In the midst of a five-fight winning run since an Octagon debut loss to common-foe, Alistair Overeem, Pavlovich has managed to run through contenders en route to the top-3 of the division – most recently taking out Tai Tuivasa with an opening minute knockout at UFC Fight Night Orlando last December.

Sergei Pavlovich has been tipped to fight for gold with a win over Curtis Blaydes

Hotly tipped to challenge for undisputed heavyweight gold with a victory over Illinois perennial contender, Blaydes in their title-eliminator at the UFC Apex facility this weekend, Pavlovich remains unmoved by the prospect of fighting Jones for gold next – praising the two-weight champion’s heavyweight title-winning performance against Ciryl Gane in March.

“I don’t really think about this moment,” Sergei Pavlovich told assembled media of a title fight with Jon Jones ahead of UFC Vegas 71. “I’m only thinking about and concentrating on the fight ahead of me.”

“I think it was a great debut for Jon Jones – he hasn’t fought for such a long time and he [beat[ such a good opponent [Ciryl Gane],” Sergei Pavlovich continued. “So, I think it was a great statement he has made with that debut.” (Transcribed by TalkSPORT)

Expected to make his first attempted defense of the undisputed heavyweight crown before the end of this year, Jones recently hinted at his impending retirement from active competition, as well as a Madison Square Garden title offing with former two-time division kingpin, Stipe Miocic in an annual trip to New York City for the organization.

Francis Ngannou urged to make boxing move: ‘He only needs one fight to make $10 million or $15 million’

Former UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou has been urged to explore further the possibility of a move to professional boxing by past–opponent, Curtis Blaydes, who claimed that Cameroonian could likely land a payday in the region of 10 to 15 million in a single squared circle showcase. Blaydes, the current #4 ranked heavyweight contender, is […]

Blaydes, the current #4 ranked heavyweight contender, is scheduled to return to the Octagon this weekend atop a UFC Vegas 71 card against surging Russian heavyweight knockout artist, Sergei Pavlovich.

Himself riding a three-fight winning run, Blaydes most recently headlined UFC Fight Night London back in July of last year in a 15-second TKO win over Tom Aspinall after the Atherton native suffered a catastrophic knee injury.

Twice sharing the Octagon with former undisputed heavyweight titleholder, Ngannou, Illinois native, Blaydes first dropped a doctor’s stoppage TKO loss and then a standing strikes TKO defeat to the Batié native in 2016 and 2018, respectively.

Francis Ngannou backed to make lucrative move to boxing

Sharing his thoughts on Ngannou’s fighting future following his January departure from the UFC, Blaydes told MMA Fighting ahead of UFC Vegas 71 that the former champion could likely land himself a multi-million dollar payday in just one venture to professional boxing.

“I don’t think [Francis Ngannou will return to the UFC] but my reasons for that are I believe he’s going to get a boxing fight – he only needs one to make $10,000,000 or $15,000,000,” Blaydes said.. “After you make $15,000,000, it’s hard to go back to $800,000. And he doesn’t want to have to deal with the grappling. He would rather just have to strike.”

“That’s what he wants to do,” Curtis Blaydes said of Francis Ngannou. “I believe he’s going to be able to get a boxing fight, get the money and he’ll be good for life.”

Furthermore, former undisputed UFC flyweight champion and ONE Championship gold holder, Demetrious Johnson backed Ngannou’s ability to earn himself a cool payday despite not competing under the promotion’s banner – insisting there is money to be earned outside of the Dana White-led umbrella.

Earlier this week, to boot, Matchroom Boxing leader, Eddie Hearn expressed his interest in working alongside knockout artist, Ngannou in the future, as the Cameroon native finds himself linked to a potential boxing debut against former world champion, Anthony Joshua.

UFC Vegas 71: Pavlovich vs. Blaydes – Betting Preview

Without a loss since his promotional debut, surging Russian heavyweight knockout artist, Sergei Pavlovich remains a decent betting underdog to continue his roughshod run through the ranks against perennial contender, Curtis Bladyes in the main event of UFC Vegas 71 this weekend. Pavlovich, who boasts a 17-1 professional record, and clinched gold under the banner […]

Pavlovich, who boasts a 17-1 professional record, and clinched gold under the banner of Fight Nights Global prior to his UFC landing back in November 2018, the Russian has suffered just a sole professional mixed martial arts defeat.

Tackling common-foe, Alistair Overeem in his organizational loss, Pavlovich dropped a first round ground strikes loss to the veteran Dutch kickboxer.

However, in five victories since, Pavlovich has chalked up consecutive knockout stoppage wins, including finishes of Shamil Abdurakhimov, Derrick Lewis, and Tai Tuivasa.

And amid his stunning run of form – which has seen Pavlovich propelled to the #3 rank in the official heavyweight pile, BetWay currently see the surging heavyweight as a decent underdog at +135 to defeat Blaydes – and likely land a title opportunity.

Himself riding an impressive run of three consecutive victories to rebound back to the top-5 of the division, Blaydes, a perennial contender at the heavyweight limit, most recently landed a first round TKO win over Tom Aspinall in July of last year after the latter suffered a 15-second knee injury.

Prior to that summer victory in the UK, Blaydes landed a knockout victory over Chris Daukaus, as well as a unanimous decision triumph against Jairzinho Rozenstruik.

And in the wake of his impressive victory – paired with his dominant wrestling game, Blaydes, a national Juco champion is priced as a betting favorite to defeat Pavlovich in ‘SIn City’ – currently placed as a -150 suitor.

Landing a stunning 14 knockout victories in 17 total triumphs throughout his professional career, Pavlovich landed quickfire wins over both the aforenoted, Tuivasa, and Lewis recently – stopping the duo in just 54 seconds and 55 seconds, respectively in the last year.

As far as the potential to continue that stunning knockout run of five consecutive finishes since his UFC debut loss against Overeem, Pavlovich is available currently at -162 to defeat Blaydes with strikes come their heavyweight title-eliminator at UFC Vegas 71 this weekend.

Himself touting his own ability to defeat recently minted undisputed heavyweight champion, Jon Jones ahead of his upcoming clash with Pavlovich – Blaydes handed common-foe, Overeem a TKO loss of his own in their 2018 showdown.

However, when pitted with another common-opponent, Lewis, Blaydes dropped a thunderous second round KO loss at UFC Vegas 19 in 2021.

Grounding out the likes of Overeem, Abdurakhimov, and Alexander Volkov during his tenure with the UFC – as well as stopping former undisputed heavyweight titleholder, Junior dos Santos on the feet, Blaydes is available at -120 to defeat Pavlovich via strikes, submission, or win via disqualification against Pavlovich.

A devastating knockout artist, Pavlovich has struck three Performance of the Night bonuses during his brief tenure under the Dana White-led banner, off the back of wins over Marcelo Golm, and the above-mentioned, Abdurakhimov, and Tuivasa.

Curtis Blaydes boasts his ability to defeat UFC king Jon Jones: ‘I have all the things you need’

Ahead of his UFC Vegas 71 main event fight with Sergei Pavlovich this weekend in Las Vegas, surging heavyweight contender, Curtis Blaydes has touted his ability to hand newly minted undisputed champion, Jon Jones his first loss in the weight division. Returning to the Octagon this weekend in ‘Sin City’, Blaydes, the current #4 ranked […]

Returning to the Octagon this weekend in ‘Sin City’, Blaydes, the current #4 ranked heavyweight contender, is scheduled to headline against streaking Russian knockout artist, Pavlovich – in a potential title-eliminator at the heavyweight limit.

Most recently headlining UFC Fight Night London back in July of last year, Blaydes managed to land a TKO victory over Tom Aspinall inside just 15 seconds of the opening round after the Atherton native suffered a knee injury.

The triumph improved Blaydes to 3-0 in his last three outings, following a prior stoppage win over Chris Daukaus, and a unanimous decision success against Jairzinho Rozenstruik.

Curtis Blaydes boasts his ability to defeat Jon Jones in potential future fight

Weighing up the potential of a future championship showdown against Endicott native, Jones, Blaydes touted his attributes and claimed he could prove to be the new champion’s kryptonite.

“For all those reasons [I’m the toughest matchup] – I have the size, I have the wrestling, I have the athleticism, I have the speed, I have the agility,” Curtis Blaydes told MMA Fighting. “I have all the things you need to match up with a talent like Jon Jones.”

“I know he has the reach, his arms are longer than my reach,” Curtis Blaydes explained. “I would have to find a way to get in that zone type of range and I might have to use elbows, I might heave to get in the clinch, but I believe I could take him down. I believe once I take anyone down, the odds are in my favor. I think that would be a fantastic matchup and I hope it happens. I believe in it a lot more right now than I did a year and a half ago.”

Winning vacant heavyweight gold back in March of this year, Jones headlined UFC 285 – stopping former interim division champion, Ciryl Gane with a one-sided opening round guillotine choke submission win.

Merab Dvalishvili outpaces Petr Yan for 25 minutes to earn unanimous decision – UFC Las Vegas Highlights

On Saturday night, No. 2 ranked bantamweight Petr Yan looked to get back into the win column after dropping back-to-back split decisions against Sean O’Malley and reigning 135-pound champion Aljamain Sterling. Standing in his way is No. 4 ranked competitor Merab Dvalishvili. Riding an eight-fight win streak, ‘The Machine’ was intent on getting the biggest […]

Both fighters came out for the opening round intent on setting a frantic pace. Dvalishvili repeatedly shot for takedowns, but Yan did a great job of staying on his feet. Less than a minute to go, Yan rushed in for his own takedown attempt, but Dvalishvili quickly reversed the position and made ‘No Mercy’ pay for it with a series of strikes as the opening round came to a close.

After dominating through the first round, Dvalishvili picked up right where he left off in the second, beating Yan to the punch and battering the former two-time UFC champion’s leg. That dominance continued through the third as Dvalishvili’s pace never once waned as he brilliantly mixed his striking and takedown attempts. Merab Dvalishvili continued to dominate throughout the championship rounds, continuing his impressive pace as Yan found it difficult to muster any real offense.

Living up to his nickname, ‘The Machine’ set a new record, shooting for an incredible 49 takedown attempts during the 25-minute affair.

Official Result: Merab Dvalishvili def. Petr Yan via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)

Check Out Highlights From Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili at UFC Vegas 71 Below:

Machine like output by @MerabDvalishvil! #UFCLasVegas pic.twitter.com/LlIhOyTikJ

— UFC (@ufc) March 12, 2023