How Sergei Pavlovich Became the UFC’s Most Feared Man: Russian heavyweight has SIX straight first-round KOs and more knockdowns per fight than anyone in HISTORY as he prepares to face Tom Aspinall at UFC 295

Over the past five years, Sergei Pavlovich has established himself as one of the UFC’s most formidable heavy-hitters.

Now that Francis Ngannou has left the promotion, the Russian can legitimately claim to be the scariest KO artist on the roster.

Saturday night’s UFC 295 opponent Tom Aspinall has branded him as such, calling him the most dangerous fighter in the sport.

So how did Pavlovich, 31, establish himself as this terrifying character?

The statistics behind his seven-fight streak in the UFC are astounding. Pavlovich is averaging the highest number of knockdowns per quarter in UFC history (6.31).

His monstrous 18 stone frame combined with forefoot aggression and dynamite hands has proven to be a powerful cocktail.

But it was an inauspicious start to life in the UFC for him. Pavlovich had to face former heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem in his debut.

He was undefeated at the time, while Overeem suffered consecutive defeats to Francis Ngannou and Curtis Blaydes.

It started as many of Pavlovich’s fights do. The Russian landed hard and his opponent wobbled.

But Overeem used his vast experience to close the distance on his opponent and secure a takedown.

He then threw himself to the ground and pounded to force a stoppage and thrill the Beijing crowd. It was a learning experience for Pavlovich and he has been quick to help everyone since.

In six fights, Pavlovich has only been in the octagon for just over two full rounds – 11 minutes and 37 seconds to be exact.

A huge overhand right marked the beginning of the end for Marcelo Grolm in his comeback after the Overeem defeat.

He then hit Maurice Greene with the same weapon before launching into a ferocious attack, forcing the referee to intervene.

The level of Pavlovich’s opponent then increased, but the result remained the same. A quick, piston-like straight uppercut knocked down Shamil Abdurakhimov and once again the ground-and-pound proved to be the end of the fight.

The top brass of the UFC then realized that they might have the real thing on their hands.

Derrick Lewis, the man with the most KO wins in UFC history, was pitted against Pavlovich in what looked like a torch fight.

He put himself in the line of fire and risked being another statistic on Lewis’ record. In the firefight, it was Pavlovich who delivered the telling blows with his signature series of shots.

Lewis took a step back and although he had a solid poker face, he was clearly struggling to stay upright.

The American then absorbed more punishment before referee Dan Miragliotta intervened. It took just 55 seconds for the win and his next fight with Tai Tuivasa was a second faster than that.

It was a brutal act of absolute brutality. Pavlovich, once he had sniffed blood into the water, threw combination after combination as he accepted or avoided the Australian’s panicked answers.

Tuivasa’s chin held up to some extent, but when he was caught several times the game was over.

Then he paid tribute to the might of the Russian, telling The Halfcast Podcast: ‘He hits hard.

“You hear about his range. He hits you from far away, where you think you’re in that zone, but you’re not, and he is.

“Obviously he’s got heavy hands behind it, and once he smells it, he can smell the blood and he just goes for it.

‘I want him again. I couldn’t manage to hit him. That’s the heavyweight game. My eyes said, “Where are you? Which one is it?”

Curtis Blaydes must have felt much the same way. Pavlovich found him a tougher nut to crack, but managed to break the American open towards the end of the first round.

Blaydes landed an uppercut among several other shots to drop his opponent and grabbed the referee’s leg as it was swung away.

Afterwards, Pavlovich said: ‘I’m not waiting to find someone (who can test me). What I want is I want to grab my belt.

“I want to try to win this belt because this has been a dream of mine since I was a kid, so I’m working really hard to make that dream come true and get that belt.

“I understood that if he tried to make an attempt, and it basically just hit a brick wall, he would crumble psychologically – and that’s exactly what we’ve been working on, that’s what we’ve prepared. .’

Blaydes is a great wrestler and was unable to take down Pavlovich, which may be a warning sign for Aspinall.

The Brit may think his best route to success is on the mat, but moving the fight there will be no easy task against a man who has trained in wrestling since kindergarten in Russia.

Blaydes admitted he had underestimated Pavlovich, a mistake Aspinall is unlikely to repeat.

“You can’t start slow,” he said. “These guys, heavyweights, I’ve conditioned myself to do these long, five-round fights.

“Most heavyweights don’t want to do five rounds. They run out of the gate. I didn’t sprint out of the gate. I came out, I groped him, and he just cums hard. I underestimated him, and I paid the price for it.”

It’s not just Pavlovich’s power that stuns opponents, it’s also the volume that makes it almost impossible to escape.

If he misses by four, there is a good chance that the fifth will connect and in terms of hits per minute he is second on the all-time list, with an average of 8.72.

While Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic was a hugely exciting headliner before the champion’s injury forced a change, this interim battle is just as compelling in several ways.

Pavlovich’s reputation as the UFC’s scariest fighter is well-founded; whether he can find a home for his thunderous attacks on Aspinall is a matter for Saturday evening.