UFC

Tom Aspinall beats Sergei Pavlovich to become UFC interim heavyweight champion

By Sports Desk November 12, 2023

British fighter Tom Aspinall needed little over a minute to become the UFC interim heavyweight champion, despite having just two weeks to get ready for his bout with Sergei Pavlovich.

The 30-year-old knocked out his Russian opponent in just 69 seconds with a punishing series of blows at UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden.

Aspinall, who becomes just the third Briton to become UFC world champion, only got the call-up for the fight on October 25 after defending champion Jon Jones suffered a serious injury and pulled out of his contest against Stipe Miocic.

The Salford fighter said on TNT Sports: “It has been a crazy two and a half weeks.

“I want to tell everyone at home, If you ever get the chance to do something and you’re scared to do it, you should just do it.

“He’s a scary guy. I’ve never been so scared in my life but I have power too and I believed in myself.

“I’ve worked so hard over the years and no one has worked harder than my father so this belt is dedicated to him.

“I was struggling with the distance a little bit but we got there in the end.”

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    Edwards (22-3) enters Saturday’s fight coming off four wins in a row since a no contest against Muhammad in their first fight in March 2021 while Muhammad (23-3) has won five straight since that fight.

    The 32-year-old southpaw was asked by MyProtein in a pre-fight interview how he plans to get the victory over Muhammad this weekend.

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    “I feel like, for this fight, I want to go out there and get a finish. We’ve fought before. I’ve felt his range and distance. I feel like I’m just the better overall mixed martial artist and I’ll prove that come Saturday night,” Edwards added.

    If his prediction of a knockout comes true, it would be the fourth knockout for Edwards in 18 UFC fights.

    His last win of that method was his famous head kick knockout win over former champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 278 in August 2022 to win the Welterweight title.

    “I’m number one. I’m the best and that’s all it is. He’s another guy that’s in my way for me to get to where I want to get to and that’s it,” he said.

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    “Camp’s been good. A lot of hard work. The team pushed me hard this camp and I’m feeling good for it,” he said.

    “I’m looking forward to headlining my second homecoming show back in the UK,” he added.

  • Brown overcomes broken foot to defeat dos Santos by unanimous decision at UFC 302 Brown overcomes broken foot to defeat dos Santos by unanimous decision at UFC 302

    Jamaican Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight secured his third win in a row and seventh win in his last eight fights with a unanimous decision victory over Brazilian veteran Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos at UFC 302 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on Saturday.

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    The night could’ve gone much differently for Brown as he fought the final two rounds of the fight with a broken foot.

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    Neal is 2-3 in his last five fights and has an overall record of 15-6 in MMA.

     

     

     

     

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    Brown's opponent at UFC 302, Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos.

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