UFC 295: Tom Aspinall wins interim heavyweight title with win over Sergei Pavlovich; Alex Pereira beats Jiri Prochazka
ByTNT Sports
Updated 12/11/2023 at 10:38 GMT
In the co-main event of UFC 295, Tom Aspinall beat Sergei Pavlovich to become the interim UFC heavyweight champion courtesy of a first-round TKO at Madison Square Garden. Alex Pereira became the first fighter to UFC titles at middleweight and light heavyweight as he beat Jiri Prochazka to claim the latter. "I've never been so scared in my life but I believed in myself," Aspinall said afterwards.
'The UK has a heavyweight champion' - Aspinall beats Pavlovich for interim title - Full Fight
Tom Aspinall captured the interim UFC heavyweight title following a stunning first round TKO of Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295.
The British fighter needed just 69 seconds to claim victory after a devastating right hand sent his Russian opponent to the mat before the referee intervened as he launched a ground assault.
Aspinall, 30, had been called up to fight on just two weeks notice after the planned heavyweight title bout between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic was cancelled after the former suffered an injury ahead of the bout.
"It has been a crazy two and a half weeks," an emotional Aspinall said after the fight. "I want to tell everyone at home, that if you ever get the chance to do something and you're scared to do it, you should just do it.”
Aspinall, tipped as a potential heavyweight champion for years, delivered a stunning pair of right hands to the Russian at the 1:09 mark of the first round, quickly ending Pavlovich’s run of six straight knockout wins.
"He's a scary guy,” Aspinall said. “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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'That was quite brutal actually' - Aspinall watches back UFC 295 TKO victory over Pavlovich
Aspinall joins Michael Bisping (middleweight) and Leon Edwards (welterweight) in an elite group of British fighters to become UFC title holders.
The 30-year-old has now won seven of his eight UFC fights and followed up his win earlier this year against Marcin Tybura, where he returned after a year out with a serious knee injury.
In the co-main event, Brazilian Alex Pereira beat Jiri Prochazka by TKO for the vacant light heavyweight title.
Pereira, 36, previously a middleweight champion, became the ninth two-division champion in UFC history after his second round victory over his Czech opponent.
With his back against the cage, Pereira stunned Prochazka with a strong left hook and continued to land punches and elbows with a finish in sight as the Czech tried to fight back from the mat.
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Pereira urges Adesanya to return to action after winning Light Heavyweight title
Referee Marc Goddard controversially stepped in to call the fight off, which both fighters later agreed was the correct decision.
"I'm not surprised after the first left hook," Pereira after the fight. "He fell down on my legs, and I looked for the finish. I don't think it was a bad stoppage.
"It's a great honour for me, especially to do this in Madison Square Garden,” he added, as the only fighter to headline back-to-back UFC cards at MSG. "This means a lot to me and to my family.”
Prochazka, who was in action for the first time in 16 months after a shoulder injury, added: "I think it was right. I was out. But you know, I will never stop. I want to work on it and come back stronger than ever.”
Looking to protect his status as the new UFC light heavyweight champion, Pereira called out Israel Adesanya after the fight.
"I don't normally call people out but there is a guy [Israel Adesanya] who has made some interviews about me,” he said. "I know I'm not going to fight at middleweight so I want him to come up here [to light-heavyweight]."
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