Pavlovich knocks out Teixeira in 39 seconds at UFC Macau and demands title shot

Sergei Pavlovich dismantled Tallison Teixeira in 39 seconds at UFC Macau on Saturday, stopping the Brazilian heavyweight in the opening round and using his post-fight microphone time to demand a title shot.

Pavlovich rushed Teixeira from the opening bell, throwing punches in bunches and battering him with both hands until the gigantic Brazilian stumbled into the cage wall. More punches followed before referee Lukasz Bosacki stepped in to stop the contest.

The finish was the sixth knockout of Pavlovich’s UFC career and the 16th of his professional life — every single one of them coming inside the first round.

“Dana [White], give me the title shot or at least give me a contender fight,” Pavlovich said through a Russian translator in his post-fight interview. “It doesn’t matter to me who wins [between Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane at UFC White House], I want to get the winner. I work hard. I work every single day. I want the belt.”

Pavlovich, now 21-3, currently sits at No. 5 in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings at heavyweight. His path to the belt is not without precedent — he previously challenged for the interim heavyweight title at UFC 295, where he was stopped by Tom Aspinall.

Whether Saturday’s dominant performance is enough to vault him back into championship contention will depend on how the division shakes out after the Pereira-Gane bout, but Pavlovich has done little wrong inside the octagon when it comes to making his case with his fists.