Sergei Vladimirovich Pavlovich (born 13 May 1992) is a Russian professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

. He was the former

Fight Nights Global AMC Fight Nights (or Fight Nights Global before 2021) is a Russian mixed martial arts organization that previously hosted K-1 and other martial arts events. It is one of the largest promotion companies in the world and features some of the top-ra ...

heavyweight champion and currently competes in the

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

division in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC). As of December 6, 2022, he is #3 in the UFC heavyweight rankings.

Background

Sergei was born in 1992 in the village of Orlovsky,

Rostov Oblast Rostov Oblast ( rus, Росто́вская о́бласть, r=Rostovskaya oblast, p=rɐˈstofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Southern Federal District. The oblast has an area of and a populati ...

. At the age of 5, Pavlovich began to engage in Greco-Roman wrestling under the guidance of coach Alexander Fedorovich Aloyan. He was engaged in wrestling until the 11th grade. After serving in the army, he began to engage in army hand-to-hand fighting and combat sambo.

Mixed martial arts career

Fight Nights Global

Pavlovich started his professional MMA career in 2014 under the

promotion, under which he won 12 fights without suffering a single defeat. On June 2, 2017, in a fight against

Mikhail Mokhnatkin Mikhail Aleksandrovich Mokhnatkin (russian: Михаил Александрович Мохнаткин; born 16 January 1990) is a Russian Combat Sambo and mixed martial arts practitioner. He is a World and European Champion in 100 kg. In mi ...

, he won the heavyweight title by unanimous decision. On November 19, 2017, he defended his heavyweight title in a fight against Kirill Sidelnikov.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Pavlovich made his UFC debut on 24 November 2018 at

UFC Fight Night 141 ''UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Ngannou 2'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 141'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on November 24, 2018 at Cadillac Arena in Beijing, China. Background ...

against

Alistair Overeem Alistair Cees Overeem (born 17 May 1980) is a Dutch professional heavyweight mixed martial artist and kickboxer, currently competing in the heavyweight division of Glory. He is a former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Dream Heavyweight C ...

. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round. Pavlovich faced

Marcelo Golm Marcelo Golm (born 15 September 1992) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division of the Bellator MMA. He has also competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of November 22, 2022, he is #7 in the ...

on April 20, 2019, at UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Oleinik. He won the fight via knockout. This win earned ''Performance of the Night'' award. Pavlovich faced Maurice Greene on October 26, 2019, at

UFC Fight Night 162 ''UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Askren'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 162'' or '' UFC on ESPN+ 20'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 26, 2019 at Singapore Indoor Stadium in ...

. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. Pavlovich was expected to face

Ciryl Gane Ciryl Jacky Gane (born 12 April 1990) is a French professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion. A professi ...

on August 8, 2020, at

UFC Fight Night 174 ''UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Oleinik'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 174'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 32'' and ''UFC Vegas 6'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 8, 2020 at the UFC Apex facility in ...

. Pavlovich however had to pull out because of an injury. Pavlovich was expected to face

Tom Aspinall Thomas Paul Aspinall (born 11 April 1993) is an English professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of March 21, 2022, he is #6 in the UFC heavyweight rank ...

on September 4, 2021, at

UFC Fight Night 191 ''UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Till'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 191 '' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 49'' and ''UFC Vegas 36'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 4, 2021 at the ...

. However, Pavlovich pulled out a week before the contest due to visa issues and was replaced by

Sergey Spivak Sergey Spivak (born January 24, 1995, as Serghei Spivac) is a Moldovan mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2014, he has also formerly competed for Wo ...

. Pavlovich was scheduled to face

Tanner Boser Tanner Vilbon Nicholas Boser (born August 2, 1991) is a Canadian mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter who is currently signed to the UFC Ultimate Fighting Championship Heavyweight division. He had previously competed for Unified MMA, where he won the ...

on December 4, 2021 at

UFC on ESPN 31 ''UFC on ESPN: Font vs. Aldo'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 31'' and ''UFC Vegas 44'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 4, 2021 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevad ...

. However due to travel issues, the bout was scrapped. Pavlovich faced

Shamil Abdurakhimov Shamil Gentovich Abdurakhimov (born September 2, 1981) is a Russian mixed martial artist, who is currently fighting in the heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of December 13, 2022, he is #14 in the UFC heavywe ...

on March 19, 2022 at

UFC Fight Night 204 ''UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 204'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 62'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 19, 2022 at The O2 Arena in Lo ...

. He won the fight via technical knockout in round one. With this win, he received the ''

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

'' award. Pavlovich fought

Derrick Lewis Derrick James Lewis (born February 7, 1985) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he currently holds the record for most knockouts ...

on July 30, 2022 at

UFC 277 ''UFC 277: Peña vs. Nunes 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 30, 2022, at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, United States. Background A UFC Women's Bantamweight Cha ...

. He won the fight via TKO under a minute into the first round, though controversy arose as the stoppage by the referee was considered premature by fighters and fans alike. Pavlovich faced

Tai Tuivasa Tai Anthony Tuivasa (born 16 March 1993) is an Australian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of December 6, 2022, he is #5 in the UFC heavyweight ...

on December 3, 2022, at

UFC on ESPN 42 ''UFC on ESPN: Thompson vs. Holland'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 42'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 3, 2022, at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, United States. Backg ...

. He won the fight via KO under a minute into the first round. With this win, he received the ''

'' award. Pavlovich is scheduled to face

Curtis Blaydes Curtis Lionell Blaydes (born February 18, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight (MMA), Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2014, Blayde ...

on April 22, 2023, at

UFC Fight Night 222 ''UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Allen'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 222'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 80'') is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on April 15, 2023, at the T-Mobile ...

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

(Three times) *

** Fight Nights Global Heavyweight Champion (One time) ***One successful title defense *

MMAjunkie.com MMA Junkie is a news website that covers the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It was founded in 2006, and is owned by Gannett Company since 2011. The site and its content have been featured in ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine'', ''ESPN The Ma ...

**2022 December Knockout of the Month

Personal info

Pavlovich is considered to be the MMA fighter with the largest

Ape index Apes (collectively Hominoidea ) are a clade of Old World simians native to sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia (though they were more widespread in Africa, most of Asia, and as well as Europe in prehistory), which together with its siste ...

, of +9.0".

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 17–1 ,

, KO (punches) , UFC on ESPN: Thompson vs. Holland , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:54 ,

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 16–1 ,

, TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:55 ,

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–1 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:03 ,

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, England , , - , Win , align=center, 14–1 , Maurice Greene , TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Askren , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:11 ,

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, Singapore , , - , Win , align=center, 13–1 ,

, KO (punch) , UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Oleinik , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:06 ,

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, Russia , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–1 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Ngannou 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:21 ,

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, China , , - , Win , align=center, 12–0 , Kirill Sidelnikov , TKO (punches) , Fight Nights Global 79 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:45 ,

Penza Penza ( rus, Пе́нза, p=ˈpʲɛnzə) is the largest city and administrative center of Penza Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Sura River, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Census, Penza had a population of 517,311, making it the 38th-l ...

, Russia , , , - , Win , align=center, 11–0 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Fight Nights Global 68 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 10–0 ,

Alexei Kudin Alexei Alexandrovich Kudin ( be, Аляксей Кудзін; born December 20, 1984) is a professional Belarusian kickboxer, nicknamed Brick. He is a world champion and European versions WBKF, King of Kings – Grand Prix K-1 tournament finali ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Fight Nights Global 54 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0 , Akhmedshaikh Gelegaev , TKO (knee and punches) , Fight Nights Global 51 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:35 ,

Kaspiysk Kaspiysk (russian: Каспи́йск; lbe, Ккасппи; av, Каспиялъухъ) is a city in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, located on the Caspian Sea, southeast of Makhachkala. The 2010 Russian census recorded the city as being the f ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Chaban Ka , TKO (punches) , Fight Nights Global 50 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:54 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Magomedbag Agaev , Decision (unanimous) , Fight Nights Global 46 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Ruben Wolf , TKO (punches) , EFN: Fight Nights Moscow , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:02 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Sultan Murtazaliev , TKO (punches) , EFN: Fight Nights Dagestan , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:59 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Vladimir Daineko , KO (punch) , Fight Nights: Sochi , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:24 ,

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Ilja Škondrič , TKO (punches) , Full Fight 1: Slovakia and Czech vs. Russia , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:15 ,

Banská Bystrica Banská Bystrica (, also known by other alternative names) is a middle-sized town in central Slovakia, located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Veľká Fatra, and the Kremnica Mo ...

, Slovakia , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Sergey Buinachev , TKO (punches) , Fight Nights: Cup of Moscow , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:20 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Alexander Derevyanko , TKO (punches) , Fight Nights: Battle of Moscow 18 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:52 ,

, Russia , , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pavlovich, Sergei 1992 births Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing ARB Mixed martial artists utilizing sambo Living people Russian male mixed martial artists Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Russian sambo practitioners People from Rostov Oblast Sportspeople from Rostov Oblast