Tom Aspinall said he took the Pavlovich fight because he wanted to get to know himself
British mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Tom Aspinall explained the decision to fight Russian Sergei Pavlovich on short notice. His words are quoted by the YouTube channel The MMA Hour.
“Nobody wants to fight him, especially on two weeks notice. But this is precisely what attracts us to our sport: I want to find out what kind of person I am,” Aspinall said, noting Pavlovich’s ability to knock out opponents.
The fight between Pavlovich and Aspinall took place as part of the UFC 295 tournament, held in New York (USA). The Briton knocked out the Russian in the second minute of the first round and won the organization’s interim heavyweight champion belt.
The defeat was the second in Pavlovich’s career. Before that, in the UFC he lost to the Dutchman Alistair Overeem. The Russian fighter has 18 victories; before the fight with Aspinall, he won six fights in a row. The Briton won for the 14th time in professional MMA with three defeats.
Initially, current heavyweight title holder American Jon Jones and his compatriot Stipe Miocic were supposed to fight at UFC 295. However, shortly before the fight, Jones was injured, which is why he was forced to withdraw from the fight. Pavlovich was the alternate for this fight, but the UFC brought him to Aspinall.
Source: Lenta
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