NEW YORK — Tom Aspinall (14-3) knocked out Sergei Pavlovich (18-2) to claim the interim UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 295 from Madison Square Garden in New York.
Aspinall opened the first round with a swift leg kick to mix things up as Pavlovich circled him. Pavlovich countered with a heavy one-two, hit him again, then Aspinall laid Pavlovich out with a gigantic four-punch combination before finishing him with a hammer fist on the mat.
The repositioned UFC 295 card came together after Jon Jones tore his pectoral muscle two weeks before he was slated to face off against Stipe Miocic. In place of the highly-touted bout came a matchup of young, hungry fighters looking for their first taste of UFC gold in Aspinall against Pavlovich.
Aspinall’s lone UFC loss came 15 seconds into his fight with Curtis Blaydes, when he suffered an ACL, MCL, and meniscus injury on a leg kick that put him out of action for just under a year. He returned earlier in 2023 to earn a first-round knockout against Marcin Tybura.
With the shortest average fight rate in the UFC, Aspinall faced off against Pavlovich, who boasted the third-fastest fight time heading into Saturday night. Aspinall also ended Pavlovich’s UFC finish rate, shutting him off at six-consecutive finishes.