Sergei Pavlovich Blasts Curtis Blaydes In UFC Fight Night 222 Main Event

Sergei
Pavlovich is beginning to make first-round knockouts look
routine, even while picking up the biggest win of his UFC
career.

In the main event of UFC Fight Night 222 on Saturday at the UFC
Apex in Las Vegas, the 30-year-old Russian (18-1) faced longtime
heavyweight contender Curtis
Blaydes (17-4, 1 NC), with a future title shot very possibly at
stake. The narrative entering the “UFC Vegas 71” headliner was that
of wrestler Blaydes versus Pavlovich the striker, but the American
made only one earnest attempt at bringing the fight to the canvas,
a double-leg in the center of the cage which Pavlovich snuffed out
with ease. The rest of the action was conducted entirely on the
feet, with both men having their moments of success, but
Pavlovich’s advantage in power was glaringly obvious to all,
including Blaydes, who never appeared fully comfortable. After a
series of exchanges in which Pavlovich’s punches appeared to hurt
Blaydes significantly, the ball truly started rolling with a big
right uppercut. As Blaydes stumbled, Pavlovich swarmed, dropping
him with another right hand, then pouring on punches until referee
Marc
Goddard had seen enough. The end came officially at 3 minutes,
8 seconds of Round 1.

The win, Pavlovich’s sixth straight since dropping his UFC debut to
Alistair
Overeem in 2018, set a record for the most consecutive
first-round knockout wins in the modern history of the promotion.
In defeat, Blaydes’ Octagon record fell to 12-4 with one no
contest.

Silva Sparks Tavares

Facing down his first losing streak in over a decade, Bruno Silva
(23-8) turned things around in a big way, lighting up Brad
Tavares (19-8) with a step-in knee and punches in the first
round of the middleweight co-main event. In the early going,
“Blindado” seemed little different from the slow, tentative version
of himself that had dropped back-to-back fights to Gerald
Meerschaert and Alex
Pereira in 2022, while Tavares appeared to be in typical form,
confident and aggressive.

However, Silva apparently knew what he was about, and halfway into
the round he began to return fire with deadly accuracy, including a
short right hook to the onrushing Hawaiian that caused him to
stumble. From there, Silva began to pursue the finish with a sense
of disciplined urgency. A brutal right knee from the clinch
precipitated the beginning of the end, followed by a massive right
hand that leveled Tavares. Referee Mark Smith
dove in for the stoppage with no follow-up needed. That prompted a
complaint from Tavares, but it dissipated quickly, and by the time
the result was announced—a technical knockout at 3:35 of Round 1—he
was congratulating the Brazilian. The highlight-reel finish brought
Silva’s Octagon record to an even 3-3 and reestablished him as a
Top 15 talent, while Tavares dropped to 14-8 in the UFC as the most
accomplished alumnus of Season 11 of “The Ultimate Fighter.”

Inadvertent Headbutt Lead to No Contest for Green, Gordon

A promising lightweight scrap between Bobby Green
and Jared
Gordon ended in disappointment for all involved, as Green rode
an accidental clash of heads to an apparent TKO win late in the
first round, only to have it declared a no contest upon replay. The
bout had been shaping up as a competitive striking battle, with
former featherweight Gordon experiencing surprising success walking
down the taller, quicker and slicker Green to land punches. With
under a minute left in the opening stanza, the crown of Green’s
head struck Gordon squarely in the temple during a close-quarters
boxing exchange. Green pursued his dazed foe to the canvas,
pounding him senseless with several pinpoint follow-up punches and
prompting the stoppage from referee Keith
Peterson. Gordon’s corner—and the announcers’ table, featuring
friend and longtime training partner Paul
Felder—understandably erupted in protest. After reviewing the
final sequence in consultation with replay official Chris Tognoni,
the bout was declared a no contest at 4 minutes, 35 seconds of
Round 1. Green and Gordon met the announcement with equanimity,
perhaps setting up a second go-round later this year.

Lucindo Boxes Up Walker

In a strawweight showcase, Iasmin
Lucindo’s aggression and combination punching were too much for
Brogan
Walker. The 21-year-old Brazilian established her striking
superiority early, countering Walker’s kicks with two- and
three-punch ripostes. Walker was game throughout, continuing to
throw come forward and throw offense even as she got the worse of
almost every exchange. The fight, while generally competitive, grew
more one-sided with each passing round, and by the final frame
Walker’s face was showing significant damage, including a nasty
cut. The cageside judges scored the fight for Lucindo by identical
30-27 marks, bringing her Octagon record to 1-1 and her overall
tally to 14-5; Walker fell to 7-4 overall, 0-2 in the UFC.

Wells Grinds Down Semelsberger

Jeremiah
Wells used effective wrestling and a furious pace to take a
well-deserved verdict over fellow rising welterweight Matthew
Semelsberger in the high-energy main card opener. A wild first
round ended with Wells carrying all the momentum, as Semelsberger
dropped the Philadelphia native early, only to have Wells take over
with his wrestling and effective ground-and-pound. A similar
dynamic played out over the second and third periods, only further
in Wells’ favor, with Semelsberger landing effectively on the feet,
but largely unable to stop the takedowns. Wells’ ground assault
created offense for him even as it limited Semelsberger’s chances
to do damage. He managed big slams in Rounds 2 and 3, applied heavy
pressure and a constant stream of punches and elbows, and punished
Semelsberger’s submission and escape attempts. The judges scored
the fight for Wells by split scorecards (29-28, 28-29, 30-27),
propelling him to 12-2-1 (4-0 UFC) and dropping Semelsberger to
11-5 overall, 5-3 in the UFC.