NEW YORK – Heavyweight contenders Sergei Pavlovich and Tom Aspinall came face-to-face for the first time Thursday ahead of their short-notice interim title fight at UFC 295.
After champion Jon Jones suffered an injury that forced him out of the originally planned main event with Stipe Miocic, the UFC shifted gears and booked Pavlovich (17-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) vs. Aspinall (13-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC) for the interim strap on the card at Madison Square Garden.
Both men jumped at the opportunity and kicked off fight week activities at the pre-fight news conference, after which they had their first staredown.
Check out the video above to see the Pavlovich vs. Aspinall faceoff from the UFC 295 press conference.
The UFC 295 main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 295.
