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The heavy-handed Russian earned his sixth consecutive knockout victory in the UFC Fight Night 222 headliner, dispatching Curtis Blaydes 3:08 into the opening stanza of their clash at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Pavlovich’s six straight first-round knockouts are a promotional record, and successive triumphs over ranked foes in Blaydes, Tai Tuivasa and Derrick Lewis have launched the Eagles MMA product to the top of the contender’s list in the heavyweight division. Additionally, Pavlovich moves up to No. 3 in Sherdog’s latest divisional rankings, and he’ll undoubtedly be very interested to know when the UFC plans on booking the Jon Jones-Stipe Miocic heavyweight title fight. Not bad for a guy who appeared to be out of his depth against Alistair Overeem in November 2018.
Elsewhere, Patrick Mix made his case to be considered among the world’s top bantamweights, as he completed an impressive run through the Bellator 135-pound grand prix with a first-round knockout of Raufeon Stots in the Bellator 295 main event on Saturday night. Known as a grappler first, Mix displayed a new dimension by knocking his foe out cold with a perfectly placed knee. “Patchy” has tasted defeat just once in 19 professional outings, and he’ll enter his next bout — presumably a title unification bout against the Sergio Pettis-Patricio Freire winner — with a five-bout winning streak and a No. 7 ranking at 135 pounds.
Meanwhile, Sara McMann announced her presence as a new contender in the women’s featherweight division with a clear-cut decision triumph against two-time title challenger Arlene Blencowe at Bellator 294. As a result, the Olympic silver medalist exits the bantamweight rankings and debuts in the 145-pound poll at No. 6.
Note: Previous rankings listed in brackets.
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