The best and worst from UFC Fight Night 149: Overeem vs. Oleinik

#2 Best: Pavlovich lives up to the hype

Sergei Pavlovich looked excellent in his win over Marcelo Golm

Russian Heavyweight prospect Sergei Pavlovich made some noise last year when he was signed by the UFC following a run on the regional circuit that saw him go 12-0, but eyebrows were raised when he was matched with Alistair Overeem for his Octagon debut. Sure enough, Pavlovich never got the chance to show his power-striking game and was smashed by the veteran in the opening round.

Given an opponent lower on the totem pole last night in Marcelo Golm, Pavlovich finally showed the UFC fans what the hype was all about. He wasted no time in unloading some huge shots on the Brazilian, stunning him with a flurry in the opening seconds of the fight before finishing him with a coffin nail uppercut, netting himself one of the show’s bonus awards in the process.

Nobody is going to confuse Golm for a top-level contender any time soon – he was coming off two straight losses – but this was definitely a great showing for Pavlovich, and offered more evidence that the Overeem fight was just a step too far for him. He’s still a tremendous prospect at Heavyweight – young, athletic and hard-hitting – and he may yet develop into a contender if last night’s showing is anything to go by.