
UFC's Sergei Pavlovich unfazed by those who 'turned away' amidst losing skid
Being on a losing skid has Sergei Pavlovich sensing a sway in support heading into UFC Fight Night 250.
Once a destructive force at heavyweight with six straight first-round knockout wins, Pavlovich (18-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) now finds himself on the first losing streak of his career. The 32-year-old is coming off back-to-back losses to interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall and most recently Alexander Volkov at UFC on ABC 6.
'Of course I felt it. I felt that some people turned away, but I don't pay them too much attention,' Pavlovich said through an interpreter during Wednesday's media day. 'I want to thank personally the people that have stayed, that supported me through this. For them, I want to do this, and those people who came and went and whatever, I'm not worried about that.'
Pavlovich will look to rebound when he takes on experienced striker Jairzinho Rozenstruik (15-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) on Saturday's UFC Fight Night 250 (ESPN+) main card at ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
'He's a very explosive guy, he's very fast, he has a lot of experience,' Pavlovich said of Rozenstruik. 'So, you have to be ready for anything when it comes to him, and I'm ready for all three rounds.'
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie's event hub for UFC Fight Night 250.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford to have KO bonus after Canelo's all-time stinker against William Scull
Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Terence Crawford faced off Friday at the kickoff press conference for their Sept. 13 showdown. The highly-anticipated Saul "Canelo" Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford showdown on Sept. 13 will be the first fight financed by Turki Alalshikh to have a knockout bonus, Alalshikh announced Friday at the kickoff press conference for the Netflix-streamed undisputed super middleweight title bout in Riyadh. The lead promoter for Alvarez vs. Crawford is Dana White and TKO Boxing — the venture formed by Alalshikh, White and WWE President Nick Khan earlier this year. White is also the CEO of the UFC, where performance-related bonuses are a regular feature. "We will not have [a fighter who is running] anymore [on our shows], this is the first thing," Alalshikh responded when asked how he plans to prevent disappointing 'Tom and Jerry' fights moving forward. Advertisement "The second [thing], we will have in [Alvarez vs. Crawford] and [future] fights, bonuses for KOs." Alvarez's most recent ring appearance was a historically dreadful bout against Cuba's William Scull. Alvarez (152) and Scull (293) combined to throw the fewest punches in a 12-round fight in the 40-year history of boxing stat-tracker CompuBox. Scull refused to fight with Alvarez, instead choosing to throw pitter-patter jabs and moving constantly. "Canelo" was forced to chase him down and push to engage, but Alvarez's 34-year-old legs did a poor job of that and it made for an abysmal watch. The night before — also on a show funded by Alalshikh — Devin Haney (224) and Jose Ramirez (279) combined to throw the fourth-fewest punches at the time in a 12-round fight, while Rolando "Rolly" Romero (280) and Ryan Garcia (210) combined to throw the third-fewest punches ever in a 12-round fight. After the back-to-back disappointing shows, Alalshikh voiced his frustration with "Tom and Jerry" fights and fighters who competed with an unentertaining style. His debuting of the knockout bonus on Sept. 13 serves as an attempt to change boxers' approaches to fights, reminding them of the need to entertain as well as win. Advertisement Alalshikh did not clarify how much the knockout bonus would be for Alvarez vs. Crawford, although the pair's combined purses for the superfight are expected to exceed $100 million. Inside the distance or not, Crawford continued to insist that he has what it takes to defeat Alvarez at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and become the first fighter of the four-belt era to become an undisputed champion in three weight divisions. "For sure, the belts are coming with me, they're coming home with me. I'm telling you right now," Crawford said to Alvarez. "I know Turki is in your corner," Alvarez responded, "but look, it's going to be very difficult. [Alalshikh is] going to be so mad that day, believe me." Advertisement Alvarez and Alalshikh have had an up-and-down relationship over the past year. Alalshikh said he would crush Alvarez's fight against Edgar Berlanga this past September with a competing event that night, UFC 306. Alvarez was not impressed by those comments and retaliated against the Saudi boxing financier. The pair, however, ultimately reconciled and agreed on a four-fight deal this past February. The second of those four bouts for Alvarez will be against Crawford in September.
Yahoo
41 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford to have KO bonus, as Turki Alalshikh seeks to end 'Tom and Jerry' fights
Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Terence Crawford faced off Friday at the kickoff press conference for their Sept. 13 showdown. The highly-anticipated Saul "Canelo" Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford showdown on Sept. 13 will be the first fight financed by Turki Alalshikh to have a knockout bonus, Alalshikh announced Friday at the kickoff press conference for the Netflix-streamed undisputed super middleweight title bout in Riyadh. The lead promoter for Alvarez vs. Crawford is Dana White and TKO Boxing — the venture formed by Alalshikh, White and WWE President Nick Khan earlier this year. White is also the CEO of the UFC, where performance-related bonuses are a regular feature. "We will not have [a fighter who is running] anymore [on our shows], this is the first thing," Alalshikh responded when asked how he plans to prevent disappointing 'Tom and Jerry' fights moving forward. Advertisement "The second [thing], we will have in [Alvarez vs. Crawford] and [future] fights, bonuses for KOs." Alvarez's most recent ring appearance was a historically dreadful bout against Cuba's William Scull. Alvarez (152) and Scull (293) combined to throw the fewest punches in a 12-round fight in the 40-year history of boxing stat-tracker CompuBox. Scull refused to fight with Alvarez, instead choosing to throw pitter-patter jabs and moving constantly. "Canelo" was forced to chase him down and push to engage, but Alvarez's 34-year-old legs did a poor job of that and it made for an abysmal watch. The night before — also on a show funded by Alalshikh — Devin Haney (224) and Jose Ramirez (279) combined to throw the fourth-fewest punches at the time in a 12-round fight, while Rolando "Rolly" Romero (280) and Ryan Garcia (210) combined to throw the third-fewest punches ever in a 12-round fight. After the back-to-back disappointing shows, Alalshikh voiced his frustration with "Tom and Jerry" fights and fighters who competed with an unentertaining style. His debuting of the knockout bonus on Sept. 13 serves as an attempt to change boxers' approaches to fights, reminding them of the need to entertain as well as win. Advertisement Alalshikh did not clarify how much the knockout bonus would be for Alvarez vs. Crawford, although the pair's combined purses for the superfight are expected to exceed $100 million. Inside the distance or not, Crawford continued to insist that he has what it takes to defeat Alvarez at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and become the first fighter of the four-belt era to become an undisputed champion in three weight divisions. "For sure, the belts are coming with me, they're coming home with me. I'm telling you right now," Crawford said to Alvarez. "I know Turki is in your corner," Alvarez responded, "but look, it's going to be very difficult. [Alalshikh is] going to be so mad that day, believe me." Advertisement Alvarez and Alalshikh have had an up-and-down relationship over the past year. Alalshikh said he would crush Alvarez's fight against Edgar Berlanga this past September with a competing event that night, UFC 306. Alvarez was not impressed by those comments and retaliated against the Saudi boxing financier. The pair, however, ultimately reconciled and agreed on a four-fight deal this past February. The second of those four bouts for Alvarez will be against Crawford in September.


USA Today
41 minutes ago
- USA Today
'Game over': After fighting out contract, Paul Craig would retire if not re-signed by UFC
Paul Craig fought out his contract at UFC on ESPN 69, and now he's not sure what the future holds. Craig's light heavyweight bout against Rodolfo Bellato this past Saturday at State Farm Arena in Atlanta was ruled a no contest after he illegally upkicked Bellato with just one second remaining in Round 1. The outcome of the fight leaves Craig (17-9-1 MMA, 9-9-1 UFC) in a quandary, because he is winless in his past four fights and closed out his deal in unceremonious fashion. He's not left in limbo, and Craig said if UFC doesn't re-sign him, he's unsure if he'll fight again – period. "This was the last fight in my contract so, I've fought my five fights for that last contract," Craig said on the "On Paper with Anthony Smith" podcast. "And it's in the balance of like do UFC sign me? I'm coming off a few losses as a middleweight. I moved back to light heavyweight to re-energize myself my career. I don't believe I'm ready to retire from this sport. I believe there's still a lot of learning that I'm doing, and it's the training. If I'm training and doing the same stuff and getting beat up in training, and going into fights and doing the exact same stuff and getting beat up, then it's time for me to walk away. "But I do believe I'm getting better. When I look at how much my striking improved against Bo Nickal, look at how my standup has improved over the years, that's where I'm working really hard. In jiu-jitsu as well, like I'm still learning. I'm still learning simple moves in jiu-jitsu which I'm able to add to my game, and as soon as that stops, then I'll walk away from this sport. But, it's not happening right now, and I would like to continue to fight for the UFC, but if they decide that it's not for me then they kind of force your hand, and then it would be game over for me. I would just walk away from the sport." Scotland's Craig, 37, holds notable wins over former champions Magomed Ankalaev and Jamahal Hill at light heavyweight. After going 1-3 at middleweight, the he returned to his original home against Bellato at 205 pounds, but wasn't able to rebound due to the unfortunate ending.