Tom Aspinall claimed the interim UFC heavyweight title on Saturday night, knocking out Sergei Pavlovich in the first round in New York City.
The main event of UFC 295 was due to see Jon Jones defend the heavyweight title against divisional great Stipe Miocic, but that bout was cancelled on two weeks’ notice after Jones suffered an injury in training. With Jones, 36, set to face eight months on the sidelines, the UFC pitted Aspinall against Pavlovich to crown an interim champion, and it was the Briton who triumphed at Madison Square Garden.
Aspinall, who admitted to being “scared” ahead of his fight with the Russian, caught Pavlovich with two clean right hands in the first round, wobbling him with the first and dropping him with the second. The Wigan fighter, 30, followed up with a trio of hammer fists to the downed Pavlovich, sealing the knockout to become the third British champion in UFC history.
Aspinall vs Pavlovich in fact served as the co-main event of UFC 295, while the original co-main event was elevated and saw Alex Pereira beat Jiri Prochazka for the vacant light-heavyweight title.
Pereira, a former middleweight champion, became the ninth two-weight champion in UFC history by securing a TKO in Round 2. The Brazilian dropped his Czech opponent with a left hook before unleashing a series of elbows, before referee Marc Goddard stepped in.
Re-live updates and results from the UFC 295 main card and prelims, below.
