Two knockout wizards square off at UFC 277 this coming Saturday – Derrick Lewis and Sergei Pavlovich.
Lewis holds the UFC record for most knockout wins in the history of the MMA promotion. He’s finished his opponents by KO/TKO 13 times in his UFC career, which started eight years ago. When it comes to his overall record, he’s got a total of 21 knockout wins in his portfolio.
His opponent, Pavlovich, is 3-1 in the UFC, with all of his victories happening by knockout. Overall, he’s got 12 knockout wins.
Knowing all this, it’s almost 100% certain that this fight will end with a knockout. But who’s gonna knock-out who? Keep reading our Lewis vs Pavlovich preview to find out, but first, let’s see what oddsmakers have to say.
Derrick Lewis vs Sergei Pavlovich UFC 277 Odds
All odds are per FanDuel as of July 26.
Moneyline
| Derrick Lewis | -111 |
| Sergei Pavlovich | -115 |
Where and When to Watch
- Date: Saturday, July 30
- Time: ~10:00 PM EDT
- Location: American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas
- Watch: ESPN+, PPV
Derrick Lewis to Return to His Winning Ways
Lewis is 26-9 in his professional career, with most of his defeats happening to A-list fighters. He got knocked out six times in total so far, with his most recent loss happening in February to Tai Tuivasa. We also saw him lose by KO/TKO to fighters like Cyril Gane, Junior dos Santos, and Mark Hunt. Is there a way Pavlovich can join this list?
Oddsmakers don’t seem to think so, but Lewis needs to be careful. He’s got the nuclear option on his opponents thanks to his incredibly powerful punch, but his chin might not be strong enough to sustain Pavlovich’s strikes.
Lewis knows this, which is why you can be certain that he’s going to fight smart on Saturday. Instead of rushing to get a quick win, we could see him go slower than usual. This, however, doesn’t mean he’ll try to take the fight to the final bell. That would be really strange as only six of his 36 fights went the distance.
Sergei Pavlovich Has His Eyes on the Prize
It’s obvious that Pavlovich has set his eyes on the UFC heavyweight title. However, the Russian is still miles away from it, especially considering that we could see Jon Jones challenging the title in the near future.
Still, if Pavlovich keeps on fighting as he’s been so far, he could force Dana White to give him a title shot sooner than expected. The 30-year-old is 15-1 with his only loss happening on his UFC debut when Alistair Overeem beat him by TKO. However, since then, Pavlovich is 3-0 in the promotion.
All three happened by KO/TKO and for two of those wins, he got himself the Performance of the Night bonus. The fighters he’s defeated so far in the UFC are Marcelo Golm, Maurice Green, and Shamil Abdurakhimov.
By beating Lewis at UFC 277, he’d open the door to an even bigger fight. And after that, the sky is the limit. Of course, it’s much easier said than done. So, can he actually do it?
Derrick Lewis vs Sergei Pavlovich Prediction
You can think of these two as old-school heavyweights who tend to throw hard punches but also get hit a lot. Knowing this, it seems that this fight will be decided not by the power of their strikes but by the fighter’s stamina. So, who’s got more stamina? Contrary to what bookmakers think, Pavlovich might be the guy.
Pick: Sergei Pavlovich to win by KO/TKO