Israel Adesanya, the former UFC middleweight champion, was knocked out by Nassourdine Imavov on Saturday night.
It was the Stylebender’s third consecutive defeat.
Adesanya was sent tumbling to the canvas by a huge right hand from Imavov.
Imavov finished off Adesanya with some heavy ground and pound midway through the second round.
Adesanya had overcome his demons by knocking out Alex Pereira in April 2023 at the fourth time of asking.
That win saw the Nigerian-New Zealander regain the UFC middleweight title before suffering back-to-back losses to Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis.
Heading into his fight with Imavov, Adesanya needed a win to remain at the middleweight top table.
But Imavov denied him that opportunity in devastating fashion.
Adesanya appeared to briefly protest the stoppage, but there was no denying things would have only got worse if the referee hadn’t waved it off.
Everyone in the AnB arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was stunned by the stoppage, including Adesanya, who banged the canvas in anger as the result sank in.
