UFC Fight Night: Sergei Pavlovich vs Tallison Teixeira Preview & Prediction
Heavyweight knockout artists collide in the feature fight on the main card, with Sergei Pavlovich squaring off against Tallison Teixeira.
Sergei Pavlovich vs Tallison Teixeira facts
What time are Sergei Pavlovich and Tallison Teixeira expected to walk out?
Where is UFC Fight Night: Song vs Figueiredo? Galaxy Arena, Macau SAR, China
Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night: Song vs Figueiredo? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC Fight Night 277
What TV channel is UFC Fight Night: Song vs Figueiredo on? UK – TNT Sports / USA – Paramount
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night: Song vs Figueiredo? UK – TNT Sports can stream the event online via the TNT Sports website and HBO Max / USA – Paramount+ & UFC Fight Pass
UFC Fight Night: Song vs Figueiredo main card
Song Yadong vs Deiveson Figueiredo (Bantamweight)
Zhang Mingyang vs Alonzo Menifield (Light Heavyweight)
Sergei Pavlovich vs Tallison Teixeira (Heavyweight)
Kai Asakura vs Cameron Smotherman (Bantamweight)
Alex Perez vs Su Mudaerji (Flyweight)
UFC Fight Night: Song vs Figueiredo prelims
Lee Yi-sak vs Luis Felipe Dias (Middleweight)
Ding Meng vs Jose Henrique Souza (Welterweight)
Aori Qileng vs Cody Haddon (Bantamweight)
Angela Hill vs Xiong Jingnan (Women’s Strawweight)
Loma Lookboonmee vs Jaqueline Amorim (Women’s Strawweight)
Zhu Kangjie vs Rodrigo Vera (Featherweight)
Rei Tsuruya vs Luis Gurule (Bantamweight)
Jake Matthews vs Carlston Harris (Welterweight)
Sergei Pavlovich: Can the Russian force his name back into title contention?
Debuting with a TKO loss to Alastair Overeem back in 2018, heavy-handed boxer, Sergei Pavlovich (20-3), would proceed to reel off six successive first round knockouts to earn a shot at the vacant heavyweight title against Tom Aspinall. Despite closing as the favorite, the Russian found himself on the wrong end of a first round KO defeat of his own before dropping his next match to Alexander Volkov, a run of form that had many writing the Russian knockout artist off. However, Pavlovich has seemingly righted the ship with back to back wins over Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Waldo Cortes-Acosta, demonstrating a more patient style to compensate for his KO loss to Aspinall.
Tallison Teixeira: Can "Xicao" triumph as a considerable underdog?
One of the tallest fighters on the entire UFC roster at 6’7”, hopes were high for Tallison Teixeira (9-1) following a POTN winning first round stoppage over Justin Tafa in his debut. Unfortunately, the towering Brazilian’s reputation would take a bit of a hit after being rushed into a main event spot against Derrick Lewis for his sophomore appearance, with “The Black Beast” scoring a first round stoppage to pump the brakes on Teixeira’s hype train. He’s somewhat rebounded with a decision victory over Tai Tuivasa in February, although both men looked so terrible in that bout that it’s hard to put too much stock in the “Xicao” resurgence just yet.
Sergei Pavlovich vs Tallison Teixeira prediction
This one looks pretty clear cut on paper. Teixeira has improved since joining the UFC but he still got knocked out by Derrick Lewis less than a year ago; the same Derrick Lewis who Pavlovich folded in less than a round all the way back in 2022.
The Russian isn’t the same terrifying marauder that he was during his relentless surge towards a heavyweight title shot, but he’s still got ferocious power in his hands. He isn’t the same knockout threat that he was before losing to Tom Aspinall but he appears to have improved technically to compensate for a less aggressive fighting style. Many bemoan the fact that he doesn’t swing for the fences anymore, but Pavlovich 2.0 was still enough to see off Waldo Cortes-Acosta in his last contest; a fighter that many had pegged as a future title challenger.
By contrast, Teixeira went life and death with Tai Tuivasa in his last fight; not exactly the best look considering that “Bam Bam” is currently on a seven fight losing streak. “Xicao” mixed in the grappling to get his hand raised there, but the fact that Tuivasa just got wrestled to death by Louie Sutherland isn’t enough to make me think that he’s about to lay a wrestling clinic on Pavlovich.
Pavlovich either lands a bomb in the early goings to score a TKO, or soundly out strikes Teixeira to earn the decision victory.
Prediction: Sergei Pavlovich to win by TKO
