The UFC returned to Baku, Azerbaijan for the organization’s second consecutive June event.
Rafael Fiziev, who represents Azerbaijan, was pitted against Mexico’s Manuel Torres in a five-round main event in the lightweight division.
The 13-bout card took place at the Baku Crystal Hall, the same venue as last year’s event.
Four pivotal contests in the middleweight division were also featured on the card, including a co-main event between Russia’s Shara Magomedov and Brazil’s Michel Pereira.
Below are the official results from UFC Fight Night: Fiziev vs. Torres…
MAIN CARD
-- Rafael Fiziev vs. Manuel Torres
-- Shara Magomedov vs. Michel Pereira
-- Nazim Sadykhov vs. Matheus Camilo
-- Asu Almabayev vs. Charles Johnson
-- Ikram Aliskerov vs. Brunno Ferreira
-- Abus Magomedov vs. Michał Oleksiejczuk
PRELIMINARY CARD
-- Farman Hasanov vs. Eric Nolan
Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev def. Julius Walker by KO at 0:08 of Round 1
Turkiye’s Yakhyaev, 25, nearly set a new UFC record with an instant knockout of America’s Walker. Yakhyaev dropped Walker with the first punch he threw about four or five seconds into the fight and landed a few more before the referee to step in to officially end the bout.
It marked the second-fastest KO win in light-heavyweight history behind only Ryan Jimmo’s seven-second KO of Anthony Perosh at UFC 149. It tied Houston Alexander's UFC 71 eight-second KO win over Keith Jardine. The win improved Yakhyaev’s pro MMA record to 10-0 and is tied for the seventh-fastest KO in UFC history regardless of weight class.
Nursulton Ruziboev def. Andrey Pulyaev by technical submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:15 of Round 1
Uzbekistan’s Ruziboev used his crushing grip strength to choke Russia’s Pulyaev unconscious after getting the fight to the mat early. Ruziboev, 32, is 5-1 in the UFC but 5-0 when competing in the middleweight division.
Kaan Ofli def. Javier Reyes by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 4:16 of Round 1
Australia’s Ofli won his third consecutive fight, tapping out Colombia’s Reyes shortly after rocking him with a right hand.
Daniil Donchenko def. Theodor Berggren by TKO at 1:35 of Round 2
Ukraine’s Donchenko kept his hot streak intact and won his third straight UFC bout with a finish of Sweden’s Berggren who had replaced his countryman Andreas Gustafsson on short notice for this one. Donchenko, the welterweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter 33, used a perfectly-timed head kick to set up the finish.
Jean Matsumoto def. Bekzat Almakhan by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Brazil’s Matsumoto overcame a first-round knockdown to improve to 4-2 in the UFC as Kazakhstan’s Almakhan fell to 1-3 in the UFC with all three losses via UD.
Tahir Abdullayev def. Jefferson Nascimento by TKO at 4:28 of Round 3
These UFC newcomers kicked off the prelims with Nascimento frustrating Abdullayev with movement for two rounds before Abdullayev found success on the ground in Round 3. The fight was stopped in the final minute thanks to a questionable call from the referee.
“That’s a really bad stoppage,” former UFC champion Michael Bisping said on the broadcast, since Nascimento was intelligently defending himself at the time the bout was halted.
2:33
