Sergei Pavlovich To Face Tai Tuivasa At December 3rd UFC Event

Rising heavyweight Sergei Pavlovich will get a big test later this year, facing Tai Tuivasa in the co-main event spot of UFC’s December 3rd card.

News of the matchup was first reported by Farah Hannoun of MMA Junkie. The bout is joining a card that is expected to take place at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, USA.

Pavlovich has risen up the heavyweight ranks slowly since 2019, scoring four straight wins in recent years. His last victory was his biggest yet, stopping former title challenger Derrick Lewis in just 55 seconds with punches in July.

Tuivasa will be fighting to come back from a loss in the highest-profile fight of his career thus far.

Tuivasa headlined a card in September against former interim champion Ciryl Gane. Their hectic bout came to an end in the third round, as Gane stopped him with punches.

Tuivasa had quite the moment at heavyweight before that loss, scoring four consecutive finish victories.

Welterweights Stephen Thompson and Kevin Holland are currently set to headline UFC’s December 3rd show. Here’s an updated look at the lineup:

Bout 14: Kevin Holland (23-8) vs. Stephen Thompson (16-6-1) (Welterweight)

Bout 13: Tai Tuivasa (15-4) vs. Sergei Pavlovich (16-1) (Heavyweight)

Bout 12: Tracy Cortez (10-1) vs. Amanda Ribas (11-3) (Flyweight)

Bout 11: Matheus Nicolau (18-2-1) vs. Matt Schnell (16-7) (Flyweight)

Bout 10: Derek Brunson (23-8) vs. Jack Hermansson (23-7) (Middleweight)

Bout 9: Clay Guida (37-22) vs. Scott Holtzman (14-5) (Lightweight)

Bout 8: Rafael dos Anjos (31-14) vs. Bryan Barberena (18-8) (Welterweight)

Bout 7: Eryk Anders (14-7) vs. Kyle Daukaus (11-3) (Middleweight)

Bout 6: Francis Marshall (6-0) vs. Marcelo Rojo (16-8) (Featherweight)

Bout 5: Natan Levy (7-1) vs. Genaro Valdez (10-1) (Lightweight)

Bout 4: Michael Johnson (20-18) vs. Marc Diakiese (16-5) (Lightweight)

Bout 3: Angela Hill (14-12) vs. Emily Ducote (12-6) (Strawweight)

Bout 2: Darren Elkins (27-10) vs. Jonathan Pearce (13-4) (Featherweight)

Bout 1: Yazmin Jauregui (9-0) vs. Istela Nunes (6-3) (Strawweight)