Sergei Pavlovich went the distance for the first time in his UFC career on Saturday night against Alexander Volkov.
The heavy-handed Russian was unable to cause a dent in his foe as he was outstruck over three rounds en route to a unanimous decision loss with scorecards of 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 in his opponent’s favour.
It marked the end of Pavlovich’s KO streak in the UFC Octagon.
In all nine of his UFC fights, Pavlovich has either knocked out his opponent or been stopped himself.
Many MMA fans thought they would never see the end of his iconic run in the sport but in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia they did.
It coincides with the recent UFC glove change which has caused a serious stir with fans.
Only three fights have ended with a knockout via punches since the new mits were introduced at UFC 302, four events ago, including one earlier tonight from Volkan Oezdemir over Johnny Walker.
Supporters are convinced the new gloves are the main reason behind Pavlovich and Volkov seeing the final bell as they flocked to social media to voice their fury.
Reacting to the result, one fan wrote: “A Sergei Pavlovich fight just went the distance. These new UFC gloves are Cooked.”
Another tweeted: “Nice to see the Pavlovich era is over. The @ufc ruined this whole promotion with these gloves lmao.
“Anyone with more than 10% of a chin will never get knocked out. Better start working on wrestling, ’cause the UFC clearly needs more airtime.”
A third posted: “Sergei Pavlovich has NEVER been to a 2nd round in his 8 fight career with the promotion… until he used the new gloves.”
Meanwhile, somebody else added: “Dana [White] has to get rid of them.”
The new gloves have a slimmer profile that removes excess space at the outside of the hand and were designed to help reduce the number of eye pokes and hand injuries.
UFC president White told UFC.com: “We have been working on these gloves over the past few years with the best designers, engineers, and athletes in the world.
“This redesign will truly be a game changer for the entire sport of MMA. These gloves will feel lighter, fit fighters’ hands better, prevent injuries, and provide maximum flexibility during the fights.
“You’ll start to see these in competition this summer.”
News Summary:
- ‘Dana has to get rid of them’ – UFC fans blame new gloves as Sergei Pavlovich’s nine-fight KO streak comes to an end
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