A heavyweight clash between Sergei Pavlovich and Jairzinho Rozenstruik will take place at UFC Fight Night 250 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on February 1st of next year.
The 32-year-old Pavlovich left a trail of destruction in his wake during a six-fight winning streak between 2019-2023 that saw him stop every opponent inside the first round via strikes, including the likes of Curtis Blaydes, Tai Tuivasa and Derrick Lewis.
That led Pavlovich to an interim heavyweight title shot, but then he became the victim of a 1st round finish himself as Tom Aspinall KO’d him in just 69 seconds a year ago. Pavlovich has since gone on to lose to Alexander Volkov by unanimous decision, but he’s still ranked No.4 in the division heading into his next fight.
Now he fights the 36-year-old Rozenstruik, who was mostly alternating between wins and losses in recent years, but has had a better 2024 campaign, picking up back-to-back victories against Shamil Gaziev and Tai Tuivasa.
Pavlovich vs. Rozenstruik joins a UFC Fight Night 250 card that only has one other fight attached to it at this early stage, with Ikram Aliskerov set to fight Andre Muniz in a middleweight bout.