Third-ranked heavyweight contender Sergei Pavlovich went into his UFC Macau main card bout against up-and-comer Tallison Teixeira without a lot to gain. Teixeira was ranked No. 15 in the division.
A win for Pavlovich wouldn’t have moved the needle unless the win was quick and brutal. He delivered, finishing the Brazilian in just 39 seconds. Following the win, Pavlovich called for a title shot.
“Remember we talked to you and I said to you, ‘First, let me knock him out then we’ll talk about the belt,'” Pavlovich told Michael Bisping in his post-fight interview. “This is the time now. I’d like to talk to Dana [White]. Dana, give me the title shot, or at least give me a contender fight.”
Heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall continues to recover from being double eye poked in his UFC 312 title defense against Ciryl Gane last October. In his absence, the fight promotion will crown an interim heavyweight champion on June 14 on the UFC Freedom 250 fight card at the White House. Gane takes on former two-division titleholder Alex Pereira in the fight card’s co-main event. Pavlovich doesn’t care who wins but he wants to face the winner.
“It doesn’t matter to me who wins. I want to get the winner,” said the Russian. “I work hard. I work every single day. I want the belt.”