Don’t blink! Check out the fastest KO in Karate Combat history

Vasili Antokhii made history in the Karate Combat pit last night.

Season 3 of Karate Combat is currently underway and Event 6 featured three fights, with Antokhii meeting Reda Messaoudi at welterweight in one of them. Both men are proficient in the same style of karate known as Shotokan, so an interesting fight between Antokhii and Messaoudi was to be expected.

Antokhii and Messaoudi were brought into the pit by referee Kevin Sataki and the action started shortly after a touch of gloves. The Russian karateka struck first and delivered a low kick to Messaoudi, who responded by throwing a spinning kick that just missed the head of Antokhii.

Messaoudi went for another kick, but Antokhii moved out of the way and uncorked a few uppercuts before finishing with a left hook that immediately dropped him to the ground. Antokhii then followed up with a kick that was literally centimeters away from connecting to a now-grounded opponent, which would have been illegal per the rules and regulations of the league.

The referee waved the fight and Antokhii earned a 17-second knockout, later determined to be the fastest in Karate Combat history.

You can watch the full fight below, courtesy of the Karate Combat Twitter account.

Antokhii responded to his history-making knockout in a post-fight interview and expressed an indifference to it, but was happy nonetheless.

“My feelings are a little confused about this — the fastest knockout ever,” said Antokhii. “It’s difficult to explain what I’m feeling now, but I’m happy. I don’t want to injure anyone, or hurt my opponent, but of course I’m happy.

“I always have my own tactics. Getting a KO is like a lottery. Even with a weak opponent, there are no guarantees.”

Antokhii remains undefeated in the Karate Combat pit, extending his overall record to 3-0. He has defeated Willians Quirino and Davy Dona in previous appearances.