Fighter Profile: Sergei Pavlovich

Background

Russian heavyweight from Rostov-on-Don with a professional record of 21-3 and a knockout rate among the highest in the division. He is a former Fight Nights Global heavyweight champion.

Career timeline

• Joined the UFC in 2018 and, after losing his debut, put together a long run of first-round knockouts over ranked heavyweights including Derrick Lewis, Tai Tuivasa and Curtis Blaydes.
• Lost an interim title bout to Tom Aspinall by first-round knockout in November 2023, and a decision to Alexander Volkov in June 2024.
• Returned to form with decision wins over Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Waldo Cortes-Acosta in 2025.
• Knocked out Tallison Teixeira in the first round — an overhand right into ground strikes at 0:39 — on 30 May 2026 at Galaxy Arena in Macau.

Fight craft

Pavlovich is a pressure puncher who walks opponents down behind a heavy, straight right hand and does the bulk of his damage in the first five minutes. Very few of his wins have needed a second round. The trade-off is a thin gas tank and a narrow toolkit: when opponents survive the opening exchanges and take him into deep water, as Volkov did, his output falls sharply and he has little grappling to fall back on. His two 2025 decision wins suggested a deliberate effort to add rounds to his game.

In the modern MMA landscape

Our wider MMA analysis cites Pavlovich only as one of Aspinall’s quick finishes. His subsequent record complicates that framing — he has won three straight since the Volkov loss, including a first-round knockout in Macau, and is again active in the heavyweight top ten.

Return to What the Modern MMA Game Demands.

Sources

• UFC — Sergei Pavlovich athlete page
• UFCStats — Sergei Pavlovich record
• ESPN — Sergei Pavlovich profile

Record and competitive status checked 1 August 2026.