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The APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada will be the site for a showdown between top five heavyweights Curtis Blaydes and Sergei Pavlovich. The fight will be held on Saturday, April 22 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+ and headline a five-fight main card, There are also seven fights scheduled for the preliminary card that will start at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
Blaydes (17-3) is ranked No. 4 in the heavyweight division. He comes into this matchup on a three-fight win streak and hoping that a victory Saturday will put him in line for a title shot early next year. Blaydes has established himself as a powerful striker with a solid ground game. His major wins come against Alexander Volkov, Junior dos Santos and Alistair Overeem. Blaydes has won eight of his past 10 fights with the two losses to Francis Ngannou in 2018 and a to Derrick Lewis in February 2021.
Pavlovich (17-1), the No. 3 heavyweight in the UFC, comes into the match on a five fight win streak and he is also looking for a title shot if he can win Saturday. He lost his first fight in the UFC to Overeem in November 2018, but he’s since run off wins against Maurice Greene, Derrick Lewis and most recently a knockout over Tai Tuivasa.
Blaydes is an early betting favorite at -165 on Draftkings Sportsbook. Pavlovich is betting at +140.
UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Pavlovich will be available for live stream on ESPN+. If you want to watch, you’ll need to purchase a subscription. If you purchase ESPN+ separately, it cost $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year. Or you can purchase it a part of the Disney+ bundle, which also features Hulu and ESPN+ for $13.99 per month.