Sergei Pavlovich Losses: All About the UFC Heavyweight’s MMA Defeats

Sergei Pavlovich is one of the scariest men in the UFC. The Russian, who lost his last fight to Tom Aspinall last year, was coming off six consecutive first-round knockouts before suffering the second loss of his career, both coming in the UFC.

For his next fight, he will be part of history. The Orlovskii native faces another promising top-5 Russian heavyweight Alexander Volkov in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Chimaev on June 22. But what makes this event historic? This event, of course, will be the first event the UFC puts on in Saudi Arabia, with the UFC boss having promised “the best Fight Night” ever in Saudi. As Pavlovich looks to bounce back from his latest loss against ‘Drago’, let us take a look at all the losses Pavlovich has suffered in his mixed martial arts career so far.

Who has Sergei Pavlovich lost to?

It would not be wrong to call Sergei Pavlovich a prodigy. After all, the 32-year-old started his martial arts when he was five, starting off with Greco-Roman wrestling. However, after his brief stint in the army, the Southpaw picked up another martial art, which, surprisingly was another grappling discipline: combat sambo. The latter, of course, is the base of many Dagestani fighters. Which comes as a surprise to many.

The Russian’s lethal reputation has been earned off of his devastating one-punch knockout power. So lethal is his striking, in fact,  that fifteen of his twenty wins in his professional MMA career have come via KO/TKO. This is why his deep and thorough grappling antecedents comes as a surprise to most.

Pavlovich started his pro-MMA stint in the local Russian circuit. Because of his historically devastating power and knockout artistry, the Russian defeated his first six opponents via a first-round knockout, and this striking mastery saw him capture the Fight Nights Global heavyweight champion in 2017. After making his bones in Russia, and becoming champ, Pavlovich would join the UFC the very next year, and suffer his first loss.

In his very first UFC appearance, the 32-year-old faced dangerous UFC superstar Alistair Overeem, himself one of the scariest fighters in all of the UFC. The latter was coming off two consecutive losses and was expected to give the debutante a tough time. And Overeem did precisely that

Against Overeem, Sergei Pavlovich looked uncharacteristically tentative and hesitant, seemingly hesitating to pull the trigger. Which is not uncommon since debuting on the world’s biggest MMA stage is famously nerve-wracking. The UFC vet, on the other hand, came in hot. After taking a few shots from Pavlovich, Overeem engaged him in a clinch and proceeded to attempt to take the Russian down. Overeem succeeded, and it was all over for the Russian shortly after. The Dutchman finished Pavlovich with ground and pound in the first round itself. And Pavlovich suffered his first pro-MMA loss.

Pavlovich, after suffering the first loss of his MMA career, would go on a rampage and defeat his next six opponents via a first-round knockout, until he ran into Tom Aspinall last year, that is.

Pavlovich misses a chance to become the interim UFC heavyweight champ

Las November, UFC heavyweight champ Jon Jones was scheduled to face heavyweight GOAT, Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 in a legacy-defining bout. But an injury derailed this booking completely. The champ tore his pectoral muscle weeks before the bout,  forcing him to pull out from what was being dubbed by many as the ‘Battle of the GOATs’.

To make up for this mishap on the Madison Square Garden bout, the UFC booked Sergei  Pavlovich (already the backup fighter for Jones-Miocic) to take on heavyweight wunderkind Tom Aspinall for the interim heavyweight title, instead. And the bout, contrary to what many were expecting, went horribly for the Russian.

After initial tentativeness, as they measured and tested each other on their co-main event, Aspinall kicked off the action with a few body kicks. Pavlovich, anxious to engage the Englishman with his hands, eventually managed to close the distance, even catching Aspinall with one of his thunderous lefts. Aspinall, however, was up to the task, and took one of Pavlovich’s famous punches admirably, turning with the punches, proving he has a fantastic chin.

The Russians tried another flurry of punches, which Aspinall bobbed and weaved out of expertly. Near the one-minute mark, however, things took an unexpected turn. The Englishman blindsided the Russian, moving laterally, making Pavlovich (and the audience) think he was going to try another kick to the body.

As the Russians moved in to try and cut off Aspinall, the latter surprised Pavlovich, coming down the middle with a devastating combination. And Sergei Pavlovich, for the first time in his career, crashed to the canvas from a punch. It was all over in 69 seconds, and Aspinall emerged as the new interim heavyweight champion of the world. And so far, these are the only two losses Sergei Pavlovich has suffered in his career.