Israel Adesanya has suffered a shock knockout defeat to Nassourdine Imavov in a UFC event in Saudi Arabia this morning.
The New Zealander, in his first non-championship fight in six years after successive defeats to Sean Strickland and Dricus Duplessis, was floored by a right hand 30 seconds into the second round and his French opponent finished him off on the canvas, the referee stepping in.
There was a tinge of controversy attached to the defeat because Adesanya was accidentally poked in the eye only seconds before being caught by Imavov.
He quickly gave the all clear to the referee and continued, but may have still been thinking about it as his guard was clearly down.
It is a hugely disappointing result for the 35-year-old former middleweight champion seeking to rebuild his career.
He controlled the first round with apparent ease, beginning with two high kicks and defusing a takedown attempt by his opponent. He had a greater variety to his attacks and made the most of his big reach advantage.
In what was a foreshadowing of his defeat, though, Adesanya was caught with a straight right hand with just over a minute remaining in the round but he quickly recovered.
His conditioning, a problem during his submission defeat to Duplessis, appeared better and his workrate was high - all of which made his moment of carelessness and manner of defeat so shocking.
Adesanya now has five losses in his 29-fight UFC career and questions will now be asked about the two-time middleweight champion’s future in the sport.
For his 28-year-old opponent, nicknamed The Sniper, the future appears bright.
His UFC record moves to 16-4 and he has his eyes on the championship belt.
“I proved I was the better striker,” Imavov said. “Now I’m going to challenge for the belt.
“I promised you something tonight. That was the surprise.”
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