One round was enough for Sergei Pavlovich to deal with Curtis Blades and become the main contender for the UFC heavyweight championship belt.
The fight, which led the UFC Fight Night 222 tournament in Las Vegas, ended at around 3:08 of the first round after the Russian got the American with an uppercut from the right, brought down a series of blows on him, and then finished him off on the ground. By this time, Blades, who tried to compete with Pavlovich in the standing position, had already been beaten up, and his only attempt to transfer the fight to the ground was unsuccessful.
In an interview after the fight, the Russian heavyweight said that he expected to receive not only a tournament bonus for his performance, but also a title chance.
In the co-main event of the event, Brazilian puncher Bruno Silva returned his career to a successful track after two losses in a row, finishing with a TKO in the first round of American Brad Tavares.
The third most important event of the tournament, which was the fight in the lightweight division between Jared Gordon and Bobby Green, was declared invalid due to a clash of heads in the first round. In the fifth minute of the fight, Green decided to attack the opponent with an elbow, but missed and hit him with his head, and then finished off the shocked opponent on the ground.
Referee Keith Peterson did not see the infringement, but watching the replay left no doubt that Green had shocked the opponent with a prohibited blow, although he denied the obvious until the last, insisting that he hit with his elbow.
Early victories were marked by Christos Giagos, Montel Jackson and Brady Histand.
All results of the UFC Fight Night 222 tournament.
Source: https://fighttime.ru/news/item/31366-rezultaty-ufc-fight-night-222-sergej-pavlovich-nokautiroval-kertisa-blejdsa.html?rand=19907
