Stand and Deliver: UFC Saudi Arabia

Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sherdog.com, its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Evolve Media.

* * *
Every fight matters, but some matter just a little more.

A win is a win, and a loss is a loss, but some feel bigger than others for various reasons. In some cases, the elevated stakes are easy to define—the fighter on a losing streak who knows he or she is likely fighting for their job, or conversely, any title fight in a top regional organization, where the combatants know the big leagues are scouting them. At other times, a fight feels especially important for reasons that are harder to quantify but no less real. Whether it’s the unspoken weight of being a pioneer in MMA from one’s native country or the simple added spice of two fighters who genuinely hate each other’s guts, that fight just means more.

This Saturday, the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with an 11-fight card headlined by former middleweight champ Israel Adesanya and rising contender Nassourdine Imavov. Amid the 22 fighters set to compete at UFC Fight Night 250, here are two who should be feeling a little added pressure to stand and deliver.

Sergei Pavlovich: Headed for the JAG List?

Regular readers will remember that in the context of this column, “JAG” does not stand for the United States military’s Judge Advocate Corps or the television series inspired by it, but “just another guy (or gal).” On the face of it, there’s no shame in being just another guy in the UFC, where almost every roster fighter is in the 90th percentile for their weight class, but it would be a hard, hard fall for a man who so recently appeared to be a future champ.

Think back to UFC 295, barely over a year ago. Headed into his co-main event assignment, with the interim heavyweight strap on the line, Pavlovich was widely regarded as one-half of the division's future along with his foe, Tom Aspinall: two huge, freakishly athletic big men who were barely out of their twenties. While Aspinall closed as the betting favorite, the line had closed to a near pick ‘em.

The outcome that night in New York City—a 69-second knockout by Aspinall—was shocking, but did not necessarily spoil the possibility of a long-term rivalry. This was heavyweight MMA, after all, where almost everyone has big power and fighters can compete at a high level into their 40s. Considering their ages and skill level relative to the rest of the division, it still seemed entirely possible that these two would meet again in the coming years—possibly more than once, with titles on the line.

Far more concerning than the KO loss to Aspinall was Pavlovich’s performance in his next outing, at UFC on ABC 6 last June in Riyadh. Alexander Volkov should have been a perfect rebound opponent: a perennial Top 10 heavyweight with good name value, who nonetheless had shown a weakness for fast-moving power punchers like Pavlovich. What should have been a springboard back into title contention instead became another stumble, as Volkov pitched a near no-hitter on his countryman, keeping him well out of range with his long jab, solid footwork and some nasty front kicks to the gut. The man who had cruised into NYC on the back of six straight first-round knockouts looked frustrated and clueless for 15 ugly minutes.

That brings us to this Saturday, when Pavlovich will look to snap the first losing streak of his career against Jairzinho Rozenstruik. Once again, the UFC has come up with a brilliant booking, as “Bigi Boy” is another Top 10 heavyweight who presents a real challenge, but also offers a clear path to victory; the Surinamese kickboxer’s power and speed do not always cover for his defensive lapses, as shown in his 2020 loss to Francis Ngannou, where Rozenstruik’s lack of head movement and tendency to back straight up allowed Ngannou to clip his chin on a third try after whiffing twice. Pavlovich absolutely can replicate that feat, but win or lose, the onus will be on him to show that his inert performance against Volkov was an outlier.

Let’s Just Pretend We’re Meeting for the First Time, Hamdy Abdelwahab

The less said about Abdelwahab’s first foray into the UFC, the better, but to recapitulate as briefly as possible: At UFC 277 in July of 2022, the hulking Iranian, a 2016 Olympian in Greco-Roman wrestling, made his Octagon debut as an undefeated 5-0 heavyweight prospect. He steamrolled Don'Tale Mayes in a one-sided wrestling clinic that was marred only slightly by Abdelwahab looking very fatigued late in the fight. What truly marred the win—all the way to a no contest—was when Abdelwahab subsequently tested positive for an entire veterinarian’s office worth of performance-enhancing drugs.

USADA, the UFC’s drug-testing contractor at the time, threw the book at Abdelwahab, levying a two-year suspension. An additional six months was later tacked on when Abdelwahab’s urine samples continued to ping for elevated testosterone well over a year into his time-out.

Abdelwahab’s long-delayed return to the cage comes on Saturday against Jamal Pogues. Considering that the event takes place in Saudi Arabia, a country without independent oversight of MMA, and that USADA has been replaced by Drug-Free Sport International as the UFC’s partner in purity, it is not out of the realm of possibility that he enters the Octagon with an extra pair of arms sprouting from his torso like Goro from Mortal Kombat. (Credit to Shillan & Duffy listener Portia for that mental image.)

Still, here’s hoping that Abdelwahab—who despite having wasted over two years is only 32—shows up capable of rag-dolling a mid-level UFC heavyweight like Pogues, then supplying a clean cup of pee afterward. The division is a more interesting place with him in it.