DALLAS – Sergei Pavlovich thinks he got a clean and fair win against Derrick Lewis, free of controversy.
The UFC heavyweight contender doesn’t find the referee stoppage in his 55-second TKO win over Lewis to have been premature. Pavlovich (16-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) defeated Lewis on the main card of Saturday’s UFC 277, wobbling him early and then swarming him with punches as Lewis stumbled down to the canvas. “The Black Beast” got quickly back to his feet once the fight was stopped and complained about the referee’s decision.
So did many observers on social media, as well as the commentary team questioning it. UFC president Dana White also wasn’t a fan of the stoppage.
Pavlovich, however, finds it to be fair and believes Lewis was on his way to be completely out.
“The referee is a pro, and I think he did his job, and he did his job well,” Pavlovich told reporters at the UFC 277 post-fight press conference through an interpreter. “I don’t have any questions about the stoppage. I think it was a good stoppage.”
Pavlovich later added, “Yeah, I saw it in his eyes that he was losing it, that he was going away a little bit, so I knew that I had to press on and finish it right there.”
Pavlovich is on a four-fight winning streak with victories over Marcelo Golm, Maurice Greene, Shamil Abdurakhimov, and now Lewis. This was the second appearance of 2022 for the Russian fighter, as he had previously competed in March at the UFC’s fight night event in London.
Pavlovich is unsure when he’d like to return. For now, the 30-year-old wants to take a break from fighting.
“After the London fight, I pretty much didn’t have any rest,” Pavlovich said. “After the London fight, I had four months to prepare for this fight, and that’s what I did. I had no rest, so I need to rest up a little bit and then me and my team will decide what we’re going to do next.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 277.
