MMA Preview – Sergei Pavlovich vs Curtis Blaydes at UFC Fight Night 222

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SERGEI PAVLOVICH VS CURTIS BLAYDES FACTS

When is UFC Fight Night 222? Saturday 22nd April, 2023 - 22:00 start (UK)

Where is UFC Fight Night 222? UFC APEX, Enterprise, Nevada (US)

Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night 222? Click here to buy tickets for UFC Fight Night

What channel is UFC Fight Night 222 on? BT Sport 1

Where can I stream UFC Fight Night 222? BT Sport subscribers can stream the fight online via the BT Sport website

For viewers in the United States, the event will be shown live on ESPN+ and you can sign up for access as part of a Disney Bundle here!

SERGEI PAVLOVICH VS CURTIS BLAYDES LOWDOWN

Sergey Pavlovich (17-1) is currently storming his way to a title shot. After getting humbled and TKO’d on his UFC debut by Alistair Overeem (2018) at UFC Fight Night 141, he has ruthlessly notched up five first-round knockouts. Three of those came last year dispatching Shamil Abdurakhimov, Derrick Lewis and Tai Tuivasa to catapult himself into the title picture.

Curtis Blaydes (17-3(1)) headlined UFC Fight Night 141 and suffered the same fate of Pavlovich getting slept by his old foe Francis Ngannou. He has gone 7-1 since and coming off three dubs – outpointing Jairzinho Rozenstruik (2021), TKOing Chris Daukaus (2022) and a gift of another TKO after Tom Aspinall (2022) blew his knee out in the first round.

SERGEI PAVLOVICH VS CURTIS BLAYDES PREDICTION

This is a very familiar fight for Blaydes who has been preparing to navigate the knockout threat with his wrestling. It did not work for him in his two fights with Ngannou and one with Lewis. However, what was surprising in his fight with Lewis was that he stood for the first round and looked great tagging ‘The Black Beast’.

He also inflicted all of the damage on the feet without shooting in against Daukaus so, we feel Blaydes will be more patient and test himself on the feet with Pavlovich. Although, that is usually a death sentence.

The Russian will have a four-inch reach advantage and uses it violently with his jab. He pierces his opponents guard and then unleashes missiles. This will all come down to the timing of Blaydes’ takedowns.

He can get him down to the canvas easily, it is just a question of whether Pavlovich can catch him coming in. Blaydes has hardly any room for error again which makes a Pavlovich knockout a no-brainer for a bet as he is the underdog.

We feel Blaydes will bring a well-thought out strategy to keep Pavlovich guessing by being patient and setting up the level-change at the perfect time. If he succeeds early int he round, he could get a finish with ground-and-pound. That said, one uppercut down the middle to switch the lights out is just as likely.

Prediction: Blaydes via KO/TKO - CLICK HERE FOR PARIMATCH'S WELCOME OFFER (BET £5, GET £30 IN BONUSES!)

Value bet: Pavlovich via KO/TKO