Undefeated UFC prospect predicts second round finish in Sergei Pavlovich vs. Tom Aspinall fight
Undefeated UFC men's flyweight Muhammad Mokaev recently offered his prediction for the Sergei Pavlovich vs. Tom Aspinall bout set to co-headline UFC 295.
The pay-per-view, which takes place this Saturday in New York at Madison Square Garden, features Aspinall taking on Pavlovich for the interim heavyweight title. Their clash was put together on two weeks notice, following the news of Jon Jones' injury and long lay-off.
Aspinall and Pavlovich share a remarkably similar run in the UFC so far, with both men currently boasting a 6-1 record in the promotion. Alongside that, all six of their wins have come via a finish. For the losses, the Russian fighter was defeated by Alistair Overeem on his debut, whereas the British fighter suffered a freak knee injury during his bout with Curtis Blaydes last year.
Ahead of their interim title bout this weekend, Muhammad Mokaev backed his fellow Brit to get the job done. According to the flyweight prospect, he expects Tom Aspinall to find the finish in the second-round. He tweeted:
"Aspinall by 2nd round finish"
One of Mokaev's fans even agreed with his prediction and stated that they had placed their own bet on Aspinall picking up the second round finish via submission. They responded:
"I've got him for a second round sub."
Michael Bisping explains path to victory for Sergei Pavlovich vs. Tom Aspinall winner
Michael Bisping recently detailed the method and path to victory for the winner of Sergei Pavlovich vs. Tom Aspinall.
'The Count' has unsurprisingly backed the fellow Manchester-born Aspinall to pick up the win, and believes his key to victory will be his footwork and ability to level change throughout the fight.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Bisping compared the fight to his own two-week notice bout against Luke Rockhold, where he won the middleweight title. During the fight, the UFC Hall of Famer utilized a lead front-kick to keep Rockhold at range, before then making history and catching him with his infamous 'left-hook Larry' combination.
According to Bisping, Aspinall must use his same approach, with a mix of takedowns, to stop Pavlovich:
"Tom's gonna throw a lot of lead kicks, because if you throw a lead kick, Sergei has to block it...If you're blocking, you're not throwing. I think that's gonna be a key weapon...Footwork, faint, level change and then takedown. That could be the beginning of the end...Tom Aspinall will be the interim heavyweight champion."
Catch Bisping's Sergei Pavlovich vs. Tom Aspinall prediction here: (7:00):