Perhaps, after such a speech by Sergei Pavlovich «the greatest of all times» Jon Jones will have to hurry up with his retirement.
The main fight of April for the Russian MMAKard of today's UFC tournament in Las Vegas was frankly boring… You can count more or less familiar names on the list of fights of the show on your fingers. However, it was worth staying up (or setting an early morning alarm) for the sake of the main event.
- First, the Russian Sergey Pavlovich fought. A paratrooper from the Rostov region with five wins in a row, and all by knockout in the first round. wrestling skills are often referred to as the Black Khabib.
- Finally, it's a clash of number three and number four of the UFC's top heavyweights. A true Candidates match that couldn't have lasted the full 25 minutes.
We also note that this was a stylistically uncomfortable confrontation for Sergey and the most serious test in the career of our drummer. With which the domestic athlete perfectly coped, after which he made an important statement.
No fight. No mercy either. MMA is an extremely unpredictable sport, but there is some stability here too. For example, record sales of paid broadcasts of Conor McGregor fights, high-profile fights with the participation of Russians in Abu Dhabi, problems with choosing an opponent for Khamzat Chimaev … And finishes from Pavlovich in the very first minutes! There's a lot to be said for Blades and his experience, but Razor didn't have a single takedown tonight. It didn’t come to a fight at all, just as it didn’t even come to a break: the American seemed to believe in himself and decided to cut himself with Sergey in the standing position. What was he even thinking about? A knockdown, a chic jab, new missed punches and a finishing move stopped by the referee in time — this is a brief description of a completely non-competitive fight.
Of course, in a few minutes of exchanges, the owner of the APEX arena also brought several blows. However, the Russian was not even shaken, the jaw of the main Russian «heavyweight» coped with all hits — the exam was passed, the path to the top was open.
Top video…
…and the first words of the victor after the sixth early victory in a row.
«
"Thanks to everyone who supported me. You have no idea how hard I work — I hope this time they will give me a bonus. Where is my belt? Give me my belt. Curtis Blades respect, I do not want to say anything bad. But someone said that he would transfer me. And what, answer! How much I watched the UFC, they always gave bonuses to strikers. I can fight, but they don't give bonuses! Sometimes they steal when I win by knockout — I hope they will definitely give it now … In fact, I assumed that Blades would improve his stance and try to cut himself. When he got to his feet and realized that the fight would not work, I began to do my job.»Sergey PavlovichRussian UFC fighter
The next fight is the beginning of 2024?Thanks With this victory, Sergey repeated the record among Russian fighters for the number of knockouts in the main promotion of the world (6 — the same number for Alexander Volkov) and became the obvious contender No. 1 in the heavyweight division. Now for Sergey there is not a single fight left that would make sense, with the exception of the title. Accordingly, it's time for the Russian and his team to take a break and watch the events in their weight class from the outside.
In the autumn, John Jones, who owns the belt, will have the last fight in his career. The opponent is known — Stipe Miocic. But the matchmakers have enormous difficulties in order to agree with both sides. Can't strike hands with the ex-champion? Call Sergey! And if the fight between Jones and Miocic still takes place, lock the winner in the octagon with a merciless puncher from Russia. He deserved it like no one else in the organization.