UFC Fight Night 141 Results, Alistair Overeem vs Sergey Pavlovich: The Reem Is Back

What's the story?

Former UFC heavyweight title contender, Alistair Overeem, has claimed victory and is back to winning ways after a brutal first-round technical knockout finish against unbeaten Russian, Sergey Pavlovich.

Following two consecutive losses against Francis Ngannou and Curtis Blaydes, Overeem fought hard to earn his place back in the heavyweight rankings after a dominant victory at UFC Fight Night 141.

In case you didn't know..

Overeem is a Dutch mixed martial artist and is a widely decorated heavyweight with accolades such as the former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion and the K-1 World Grand Prix Champion.

Overeem first signed a contract with the UFC on December 30th, 2011, against the former heavyweight champion, Brock Lesnar.

After a series of body punches and kicks that dropped Lesnar to his knees, a continuous barrage of ground and pound strikes ensured a UFC debut win for Alistair Overeem.

Sergey Pavlovich is a Russian mixed martial artist with a 100 percent KO ratio in his professional MMA career.

Coming into this fight, Pavlovich was expected to pose as an unusual threat for Overeem, considering his run in the sport so far. Previously, Pavlovich summed up victories against the likes of Alexei Kudin, Mikhail Mokhnatkin, and Kirill Sidelnikov for the fighting promotion, Fight Nights Global.

Alistair Overeem operating in the clinch position during his fight against Sergey Pavlovich at UFC Beijing (Image Courtesy: USA TODAY SPORTS)

The heart of the matter

The bout kicked off with Pavlovich going in with a patient approach and landing a looping right hand that seemed to stun Overeem a minute into the fight.

Overeem, however, was quick to make adjustments and worked inside of the clinch by landing knees frequently on the big Russian. Pavlovich subsequently found himself against the cage but managed to reverse position with Overeem.

A minute and forty-five seconds into the first round, Overeem landed a takedown and left Pavlovich with no choice but to fight off his back.

Although Pavlovich did defend the initial onslaught by Overeem thanks to his guard held high, Overeem's hammer fists on the ground proved to at a level that Pavlovich seemed to be unfamiliar with.

The referee of the fight was then forced to call a stoppage, realizing that Pavlovich was no more in a position to defend himself on the ground.

"The Reem is BACK!" #UFCBeijing pic.twitter.com/PTqW91CWYm

— UFC (@ufc) November 24, 2018

What's next?

UFC Fight Night 141 was witness to a classic comeback by Alistair Overeem during the co-main event of Ngannou vs Blaydes 2.

After a dominant performance against an undefeated heavyweight, do you think this win for Overeem puts him back on the road to the title?

Leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below!