Tomorrow night on the main card of UFC Orlando, we are going to see a battle of heavyweight knockout artists. One of the more popular fighters in the sport, Tai “Bam Bam” Tuivasa (15-4) returns as he takes on the surging Sergei Pavlovich (16-1).
Pavlovich is looking to secure his second straight knockout of a fan favorite. The last time we saw him, he stopped Derrick Lewis in just about a minute. Now, the stoppage might have been questionable, but nobody can deny just how good Pavlovich is.
Pavlovich is riding a four-fight winning streak and he’s looking for the massive win over Tai Tuivasa. The last time we saw Tuivasa was in the headliner of UFC Paris when he took on Ciryl Gane. Tuivasa had big moments in the fight including knocking down Gane.
However, Gane’s technical striking proved to be too much and he was stopped. That loss snapped a five-fight losing streak for Tuivasa. Some think this might be too quick of a turnaround, however, Tuivasa seems primed and ready to go.
UFC Orlando Prediction
When it comes to this fight, I’m thinking we are going to see these two big boys stand and trade. However, Pavlovich can always turn to wrestling if things become too much of a brawl with Tuivasa. For Pavlovich, he needs to stay technical and try to keep things at his range.
However, he needs to be careful with leg kicks from Tuivasa. Tuivasa throws brutal kicks and can do some serious damage. We also know how good Tuivasa is when things get close. I’m going to bet on things getting close in this fight and that plays for Bam Bam.
In the first round, Tuivasa is going to get back on track with a big win.
Prediction: Tai Tuivasa by TKO – Round 1