If ever there was a fight that could guarantee a knockout, it was a heavyweight clash between Sergei Pavlovich and Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
Heading into UFC Saudi Arabia this Saturday, fans were highlighting the heavyweight bout between former interim title challenger, Sergei Pavlovich and Jairzinho Rozenstruik as one of the best on the card.
After losing against Tom Aspinall at the end of 2023, the Russian KO artist looked to return to the win column against Alexander Volkov but he suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time in his career.
‘Bigi Boy’ on the other hand was looking to score three wins in a row for the first time since 2019.
Fans question what happened to Sergei Pavlovich following ‘snoozefest’ fight
Pavlovich has one of the shortest average fight times in the entire UFC having scored 15 KO’s from his 19 wins, bulldozing through several contenders on his way to the top.
Despite that, fans were met with one of the most passive heavyweight fights in recent memory, which came as a huge shock considering both fighters’ fight styles.
With both heavyweights aware of the power the other possessed, neither came out and over-exerted themselves in case of getting caught with a big KO punch.
Round two played out extremely similarly as they both tentatively looked to stay out of the other’s power range, resulting in another boring round.
Fans were shocked when the final horn sounded and the fight went to the judge’s scorecards. With the Russian known for his terrifying KO power, fans have questioned what has happened to Pavlovich despite him picking up the win.
“Pavlovich controlled the fight but it was as unentertaining as a fight can get. The heavyweight division is in a bad place right now,” one fan commented.
“Sergei Pavlovich lost all his aura since fighting Alexander Volkov,” another commented.
“This is not Sergei Pavlovich that I remember,” a fan commented.
Rozenstruik’s last fight against Tai Tuivasa also came under heavy criticism for being a passive fight.
What’s next for Sergei Pavlovich following UFC Saudi Arabia win?
Despite picking up the win, Pavlovich likely won’t be given a very favorable matchup next due to the state of the victory.
UFC boss, Dana White very rarely rewards fighters following tentative performances and he will likely have many questions to answer with his next performance.
Brazilian contender, Jailton Almeida bounced from a loss to Curtis Blaydes with back-to-back wins that have put him back near the top of the division. The promotion may look to put on a title eliminator bout between the Russian and the Brazilian phenom.