Russian fighter Sergey Pavlovich may become the next opponent of the reigning UFC heavyweight champion, Jon Jones, and will face the American on September 10 at UFC 293 in Sydney.
According to former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight contender Chael Sonnen, this scenario is being considered after the organization failed to reach an agreement with Stipe Miocic, and Israel Adesanya’s fight at a numbered tournament in Australia looks extremely doubtful.
“Very serious rumors have reached me that there will be no fight between Stipe and Jones, and that Jon Jones will fight Sergey Pavlovich,” MMAMania quotes American Gangster. “The rumors are strong enough for me to say that such a possibility is being considered. And if I had partners in Australia, I promised them a Israel Adesanya fight, but instead I said, ‘I can’t arrange it, but I’ll bring Jones vs Pavlovich, how do you like that?’ They would probably say, ‘Yes, great!'”
Earlier, problems in negotiations between the UFC and Stipe Miocic were reported by Daniel Cormier, who said that the heavyweight title fight was postponed from summer to autumn due to the fact that the organization could not agree with the former division champion. The fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic was originally scheduled to headline UFC 290 in Las Vegas in July, but then the bout was rescheduled for November.
Israel Adesanya’s participation in the Australian tournament looks dubious as his next defense of the middleweight championship is against the winner of the contender’s fight between Robert Whittaker and Dricus Du Plessis, who will have only two months to recover and prepare for the title fight.
As for Sergey Pavlovich, he leads a series of six knockout victories and takes the second line in the UFC heavyweight ranking.
Source: https://fighttime.ru/news/item/31641-sergej-pavlovich-mozhet-zamenit-stipe-miochicha-v-boyu-s-dzhonom-dzhonsom.html?rand=19907
