At one point it seemed that Sergei Pavlovich could not be stopped in the UFC because of its supernatural knockout power.
After having had a loss for Alistair Overeem in 2018, Sergei Pavlovich then scored six brutal first round knockouts in a row and earned a shot on the vacant heavyweight title.
Unfortunately for the Russian, he did not get stuck against Tom Aspinall, and a few months later they suffered a loss when he took on Alexander Volkov.
After his return to the winning column with a victory over Jairzinho Rozen bush, he was tailored this Saturday to Waldo Cortes-Acosta in UFC Shanghai.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Sergei Pavlovich and Waldo Cortes-Acosta are surprising to a decision
'Salsa Boy' came behind the back of five victories in a row and got a huge momentum in the heavyweight division, which currently does not miss any contenders.
And early in the fight, he showed his self -confidence and moved lightly on his feet. Two minutes after the fight, however, the two colossi came into the bag and heads collided.
As he usually does, Pavlovich was looking for a big strike to explode on the chin of Cortes-Acosta, and although he landed a few heavy shots, he could not wiggle Dominican.
Although Cortes-Acosta is usually a relatively provisional hunter who uses his puncture well, he was clearly looking for the knockout strike in the first round.
During the interval between rounds, the Cortes-Acosta team asked their hunter to use his puncture more often to set up his big shot, instead of tunnel vision on the large knockout shot.
Despite that, 'Salsa Boy' came in with one big shot, and every time he did, he was caught with a counter by the big Russian.
In the second round, Pavlovich was more active than he was in the opening round, more forward pressure on and land considerably.
In the past, Cortes-Acosta has received some criticism for his provisional fighting style, especially since it is rare that there are heavyweight people.
During this fight against one of the greatest batters in the division, however, he showed his iron chin and ate several large shots of Pavlovich who did not postpone him, but won the decision.
UFC fans respond to 'overwhelming' heavyweight fight
It is fair to say that fans were disappointed that the fight did not end in a knockout, especially given the pure power that Pavlovich possesses.
“An overwhelming heavyweight fight again,” a fan responded.
Sergei Pavlovich the decision hunter 🙌 his
– Dale (@Storm9o) August 23, 2025
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“Sergei Pavlovich went the distance in each of his last three fights. The heavyweight division is so f— Death,” a third fan responded.
“30-27 Pavlovich, I hate this reality in which we live where Sergei is a decision dealer,” said another fan.
Despite his victory, it is unlikely that Pavlovich will go up the ranking, already arranged in third place under contenders.
“That was not the same Sergei Pavlovich that I met … Good victory regardless of his place to defend as one of the best HWs,” another fan responded.