UFC boss Dana White announced on Tuesday that Jon Jones has been ruled out of the UFC 295 title fight with Stipe Miocic due to an injury. Top heavyweight contender Sergei Pavlovich (18-1 in MMA), who was originally designated as the backup fighter for the main event at UFC 295, is now slated to face rising star Tom Aspinall (13-3 in MMA) for the title of interim heavyweight champion.
This interim title bout will assume the co-main event position, while the Jiri Prochazka vs. Alex Pereira matchup for the vacant light heavyweight title has been elevated to the new main event for the night at the Madison Square Garden in New York.
BREAKING NEWS…………… Sergei Pavlovich vs Tom Aspinall for the Interim Heavyweight Championship. Main Event is Jiri Prochazka vs Alex Pereira. #UFC295 is LIVE at MSG on ESPN+ PPV pic.twitter.com/SaPAwpyHi2
— danawhite (@danawhite) October 25, 2023
While this recent development has surely left a lot of fans disappointed, the fight between Tom Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich is no less than an absolute blockbuster. Both of them are top contenders in the heavyweight division of the UFC, and a title fight for either of them was not too far considering their fight records in the recent past.
The Russian monster Pavlovich is considered to be the favorite by many ahead of this match-up. The heavyweight has lost only one fight in his MMA career so far. Let’s have a look at what Tom Aspinall can learn from his opponent’s only loss inside the octagon.
How did Alistair Overeem defeat Sergei Pavlovich?
This happened back in November 2018 when Sergei Pavlovich fought his debut bout in the UFC against heavyweight veteran Alistair Overeem at UFC Fight Night 141. Known for his insane knockout power, the Russian landed some good right-hand shots on the head of his opponent and secured some points early on.
Subsequently, Overeem managed to push Pavlovich after a strong punch on the body, causing him to tumble to the mat. Alistair followed with some solid ground and pound hits to finish things off. With less than a minute remaining in the round, the referee stepped in to save the UFC newcomer.
However, fans must note that this was Pavlovich’s first fight on the world’s biggest MMA stage. After this fight, he has never looked back and has secured a stoppage victory in the very first round every time he has stepped inside the octagon.
His opponent, Aspinall, is also known for his quick TKO victories. In his last fight, he defeated Marcin Tybura in just over a minute in the first round of the bout. The key here for Aspinall would be to repeat what he did in his last fight and assert dominance from the very first second. This is because if the 31-year-old Russian gets hold of his opponent, his punching combinations are so good that they seal the deal for him in no time.
On top of that it is important to note that Aspinall also excels in submitting his opponents to secure victories. His wrestling is always something that will trouble his opponent keeping in mind how strong he is if he gets on top of you.