The first UFC belt holder from Russia Oleg Tactarov told that Sergei Pavlovich in UFC 295 title fight against Brits Tom Aspinella the struggle failed.
Sunday night at UFC 295 in New York, Aspinall knocked out Russian Sergei Pavlovich in the first round to become the UFC interim heavyweight champion. This broke Pavlovich’s six-fight winning streak in the first round. For the Russian, this defeat was the second of his career. He previously lost in his UFC debut in November 2018, when he lost to Alistair Overeem in the first round. All eight of Pavlovich, 31,’s UFC fights ended in the first round.
Taktarov became a UFC titleholder after winning the tournament on July 14, 1995.
“Yesterday I spoke to my comrades and shared that I didn’t have the best feelings about this battle. And now Sergei Pavlovich will have to follow the same path as Alexander Volkov . Emphasize what he was never good at. For example, my friend Alexey Chugreev (sambo coach), he knew Pavlovich when he was still losing to everyone in combat sambo, especially in twist. And he was happy for him that Sergei got into MMA, but he didn’t have much admiration.
I watched the fight and it reminded me of a noisy fly and a spider. The spider can deviate, go back somewhere, like Aspinall. From a striking technique point of view this is wrong, because your weight goes on your back leg, you can’t move, they overtake you and knock you out. This is what Pavlovich did with everyone. But here it was a bait to fall on the back and lure the person towards the guard. Then Aspinall had an upward labor. If you noticed, he was constantly showing the same move that Khabib was showing Conor: first down, then up. Sergei seemed to dissuade him in the episode, but didn’t go to finish him off. He realized the danger, did not climb, apparently waiting for later turns or a clearer shot. Apparently I lost my concentration a little. Then Aspinall shot, Sergei fell a little and there was a knockout.
— What would you like Pavlovich to change in his training?
– Completely repeat the path taken by Volkov. Repeat it completely. You may not know this, but Volkov even went to Brazil, lived in a dormitory there and trained. I understand that Sergei is also 30 years old, he is not bad now, but I can concentrate on this level [на борьбе], forget all the hitting training, he’s already pretty good at it. It wasn’t his striking or his defense that let him down, it was his lack of confidence in fighting that let him down. Reluctance to be buried in the ground.
— By the way, Volkov’s advice before this fight was to apply pressure and not give up the initiative.
– I agree. When Sergei spoke to him, he had to apply pressure and not give up the initiative. I think Sergei was modest. He hit well. But he didn’t go and finish it, he could have pressed, just been a little more careful, he could have finished near the net. Volkov is right in this regard.
— How and when should Pavlovich return to the gym?
– Well, after a knockout, you need to come to the gym 4-6 months later and after checking. Well, we’re talking about “come to the gym and fuel up.” And psychologically, we now need to restart, regain our confidence. If I were him, I wouldn’t be in a hurry,” Taktarov told .
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I am Ashley Ortiz and I am a professional journalist working for Athletistic. My specialty is in sports journalism, particularly boxing. I have written articles for some of the most renowned publications on the subject, and my work has been featured across both print and digital media platforms.
