Israel Adesanya nearly missed the best moment of UFC 319 because he was too busy yapping.
The former two-time middleweight champion watched on from home as Khamzat Chimaev claimed his old title on Saturday night.
Dricus du Plessis was mauled en route to a lopsided unanimous decision defeat at the United Center in Chicago.
The UFC 319 main event was somewhat overshadowed by what happened during the co-headliner.
UFC 319 KO froze Israel Adesanya
Aaron Pico‘s eagerly anticipated UFC debut ended in a disastrous first-round knockout loss.
Lerone Murphy’s vicious spinning back elbow left the ex-Bellator star out cold on the canvas at UFC 319.
Israel Adesanya filmed his live reaction to the KO and uploaded it to his YouTube channel on Sunday.
‘The Last Stylebender’ was looking away from the TV screen and talking about his dog just before the final shot landed.
Adesanya turned around as Pico ate the elbow that has since gone viral to ‘break the internet’.
The 36-year-old reacted to the KO by letting out a high-pitched scream and putting his hands on his head.
Adesanya kept making noise, but he was so stunned by the finish that he didn’t move for eight seconds.
“What the f—? I was talking some s—,” he said after finally snapping out of his trance.
“He’s a good fighter, but again, the levels of Bellator. He’s got power, but levels of fighting…
“That’s why I said I wanted to change my pick. I didn’t change my pick because I felt like he still has the power.
“I have to give [Murphy] respect because once I was [UFC] Embedded, I knew he was the guy.”
Israel Adesanya praises Khamzat Chimaev
Adesanya predicted ‘deep waters‘ would be the difference before Du Plessis vs. Chimaev.
The New Zealander thought ‘DDP’ would survive the early onslaught to score a late stoppage.
However, Adesanya gave Chimaev his seal of approval after being proven wrong at UFC 319.
“Not what I expected,” he said.
“I’m glad Khamzat fixed his cardio or improved his cardio to the point where he can go five rounds and just ragdoll people.
“Khamzat new middleweight champion. Division is in good hands.”