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Everyone is talking about UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic, but Sergei Pavlovich and Curtis Blaydes have something to say. Two of the most deserving heavyweight contenders collide at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night to cement themselves as the rightful title challenger.

Pavlovich (17-1) has carved a path of destruction through the heavyweight division ever since his poor showing against Alistair Overeem in his UFC debut. Pavlovich has won five consecutive fights via first-round knockout since that meeting in November 2018. Tai Tuivasa and Derrick Lewis did not last a minute with Pavlovich. Having served as the backup fighter for Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane, it's clear matchmakers recognize his potential as a future world champion. To get there, he'll need to overcome heavyweight's most dominant wrestler.

"This is the most important fight of my career so far. By no means, do I want to slack," Pavlovich told CBS Sports through a translator. "I need to go there and show everything I have, put everything out. I think, in general, you should approach everything in life with the best you have.

"I feel MMA in general, people like to see blood and heavy punches from big guys. Spectacular stuff. That's pretty much why I do that. But let me remind you, I also come from a wrestling background. It's not that it's new to me. Obviously, I understand who my opponent is. I come prepared. I'm here for a reason."

Check out the full interview with Sergei Pavlovich below.

Blaydes (17-3) is no stranger to this position. Blaydes has been on the precipice of a title shot for years, yet has repeatedly fallen short when it mattered most. The 16-fight UFC veteran twice had a title shot within reach, suffering brutal KOs to Francis Ngannou and Lewis that relegated him to gatekeeper. Blaydes enters the Pavlovich fight unburdened by those losses, wielding newfound wisdom against an opponent with far less Octagon experience.

"It doesn't weigh on me because I view heavyweight differently than the other divisions," Blaydes told CBS Sports. "Just because someone knocked you out, doesn't necessarily mean they're better than you. I know this sounds super cliche but sometimes you just get caught by those exchanges that smaller guys have four or five times each round. If you have one exchange like that at heavyweight, it's lights out.

"You have to rely a lot more on fakes and feints. You have to be able to pull those big actions. That's the biggest thing I learned from the Derrick Lewis fight. I was doing that in the first round. In the second round, I got blinders on and insisted on getting a takedown. I remember thinking that. I forced it. It wasn't organic. I didn't pull out a reaction. I believed I was that much faster than him and that's a lesson I learned. We call it smoke. You have to put out smoke before you attack."

Check out the full interview with Curtis Blaydes below.

The main card also features Jared Gordon's return following a heavily-disputed decision loss to the popular Paddy Pimblett. He faces another charismatic fighter in Bobby Green. Green is exceptionally entertaining inside and outside of the Octagon but is in dire need of a win following stoppage losses to Drew Dober and Islam Makhachev in his previous two appearances. A win for Gordon could be the ammunition he needs to pursue a Pimblett rematch should he so desire.

Below is the rest of the fight card for Saturday night with the latest odds from Caesars Sportsbook before we get to a prediction and pick on the main event.

UFC Fight Night card, odds

Favorite
Underdog
Weightclass
Curtis Blaydes -165
Sergei Pavlovich +140 Heavyweight
Brad Tavares -165
Bruno Silva +140
Middleweight
Bobby Green -270
Jared Gordon +220
Lightweight
Iasmin Lucindo -340
Brogan Walker +270
Women's flyweight
Jermiah Wells -110
Matthew Semelsberger -110
Welterweight

UFC Fight Night viewing information

Date: April 22 | Start time: 7 p.m. ET (main card)
Location: UFC Apex - Las Vegas
TV channel: ESPN+

Prediction

Sergei Pavlovich vs. Curtis Blaydes: This fight will not last 25 minutes. Pavlovich hasn't seen a second round in any of his six UFC appearances. Meanwhile, Blaydes' fights tend to end inside of the distance. Blaydes has a lot of confidence in his well-roundness but would be wise to mix in the takedown threat early. Pavlovich is an absolute hammer on the feet, but what little data exists shows a potential gap in his wrestling. Pavlovich has only faced two takedown attempts in the UFC: one against Overeem and one against Shamil Abdurakhimov. He fended off the latter, but Overeem caught him with a sneaky trip that set up a ground-and-pound finish shortly after. What we know is that Pavlovich's six UFC opponents average 3.47 takedowns per 15 minutes combined. Blaydes alone hits more than six takedowns in the same timeframe. Look for Blaydes to better mitigate the dangers of heavy-handed heavyweights, learning from his losses to Ngannou and Lewis, score takedowns and finish Pavlovich on the ground. Blaydes via TKO2