Sergei Pavlovich made a statement in more ways than one at UFC Macau.
The Russian slugger needed just 39 seconds to put serious hands on Tallison Teixeira and earn a knockout stoppage 39 seconds into the opening round of their heavyweight contest.
Watch the blink-and-you-missed-it finish below.
If Pavlovich’s plan was to prove he’s still a heavyweight contender, he more than succeeded as he ran through Teixeira in dominant fashion. Pavlovich rushed Teixeira down, throwing punches in bunches and battering him with both hands to send the gigantic Brazilian stumbling to the cage wall. More punches followed and referee Lukasz Bosacki was quick to jump in for the save.
This is the sixth knockout win in the UFC for Pavlovich and the 16th of his pro career, with all of those finishes coming in the first round.
Pavlovich (21-3) used his post-fight microphone time to call for a championship opportunity.
“Dana [White], give me the title shot or at least give me a contender fight,” Pavlovich said via a Russian translator. “It doesn’t matter to me who wins [between Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane at UFC White House], I want to get the winner. I work hard. I work every single day. I want the belt.”
Pavlovich, currently No. 5 at heavyweight in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings, previously fought for an interim title at UFC 295, where he lost to Tom Aspinall.