Shamil Gaziev stole the show during an exciting and eventful UFC Saudi Arabia preliminary card.
Israel Adesanya’s comeback card started with controversy as fans protested Hamdy Abdelwahab’s split decision win over Jamal Pogues, who was visibly stunned to find him on the wrong end of the result in Riyadh.
After that, fan-favorite lightweight fighter Terrence McKinney took advantage of the 12-6 elbow rule change to pound his way to a first-round TKO win over Damir Hadžović.
However, Shamil Gaziev was the standout name on the UFC Saudi Arabia prelims, and the Russian heavyweight lived up to his billing by scoring a spectacular one-punch knockout against Thomas Petersen.
Shamil Gaziev obliterates opponent with one shot
An early elbow caught the attention of Petersen, who chopped away at his opponent with low leg kicks before shooting in for an impressive takedown.
Petersen got the fight to the floor and even managed to take Gaziev’s back, but he exploded to his feet and continued winning all the striking exchanges.
Eventually, Gaziev connected with a clean right hand to the American’s jaw to end the fight.
Petersen collapsed to the floor and Gaziev didn’t even bother following up with ground strikes. Ultimately, the referee waved things off and Gaziev picked up a walk-off knockout Mark Hunt would be proud of.
The 34-year-old has now won back-to-back fights since suffering the first defeat of his 15-fight career when he retired after four rounds in the Octagon with Jairzinho Rozenstruik last March.
Peterson is now 1-2 as a UFC fighter. The Contender Series star beat Mohammed Usman last time out after falling to a decision defeat against Jamal Pogues in his promotional debut.
Shamil Gaziev’s moment on the mic
The #14 ranked heavyweight contender spoke to ex-lightweight star Paul Felder after his big KO.
“Last fight, I broke my hand, that’s why I went to decision,” Gaziev said via a translator.
“When I’m healthy, I promise you guys that every fight I will look for a first-round finish.”
Gaziev went on to reveal that had been working for weeks on the shot that put Peterson to sleep.
He added: “To be honest, it was a fight plan. All of my fight camp we were planning this attack.
“After my first punch, he tried to wrestle. I knew it [was coming]. I stopped his wrestling, and my fight plan worked, as you saw.
“We did what we wanted to do.”