Siyar Bahadurzada Lands a Vicious Body Kick to Win By KO at UFC Fight Night 128, in Atlantic City…
UFC Fight Night 128 threw up some tasty clashes last night. In the main event, Frankie Edgar took on Cub Swanson, while in the co-main, Kevin Lee brutalized Edson Barboza. The card itself contained some insane highlight moments, including Siyar Bahadurzada’s body kick finish of Luan Chagas.
Bahadurzada is one of the most interesting fighters in the welterweight division today. Hailing from Afghanistan, he’s had an up and down career. Siyar “The Great” last fought in the octagon in September 2017, when he beat Rob Wilkinson. Although he has shown promise, he’s been forced to pull out of numerous fights with injuries.
The Afghani hero had the opportunity to make some noise in the division. He went into the fight against Chagas as a favorite, with the pressure on him to perform. And perform he did, as he got one of the most vicious finishes of the year.
Violent Finish
It all started in the second round. After a stale first round, Bahardurzada came back with violence in his eyes. he stepped forward and launched a horrendous body kick. It connected with the liver of Chagas, instantly crippling him and dropping him to the floor.
The referee was straight in to intervene at the 2:40 mark of round 2. Liver kicks are one of the most underrated finishes in martial arts. The shot is very painful and often incapacitates the victim, causing them to fall to the floor because the liver is trying to stabilize. You can see video footage of this devastating move below.
This was Bahardurzada’s third fight since Mark 2016. Before that fight, he had a 26-month layoff. Now, riding a three-fight sin streak, he’s finally building up some steam, as he looks to crack the top-ten. If he keeps winning Performance of the Night bonuses like this one, it won’t be long until he is up there.
Crazy Night
It was also a busy night in the lightweight division. Frankie Edgar got back to winning ways with a dominant decision win over Cub Swanson. It wasn’t the most amazing performance of his life, but it was still a big win and that’s what he needed.
In the co-main event, Kevin Lee mauled Edson Barboza on the ground for most of the fight. The Brazilian did manage to connect with a lethal head kick that left Lee with chicken legs. However, ‘The Motown Phenom’ was able to recover and rained elbows down on Barboza’s head, leaving him battered and bloody.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPAztUL8fgU
Full Results
The full results from a fun night in Atlantic City can be seen below:
Main card
Kevin Lee def. Edson Barboza via fifth-round TKO.
Frankie Edgar def. Cub Swanson via unanimous decision.
Justin Willis def. Chase Sherman via unanimous decision.
David Branch def. Thiago Santos via first-round TKO.
Aljamain Sterling def. Brett Johns via UD.
Dan Hooker def. Jim Miller via first-round KO.
Undercard
Ryan LaFlare def. Alex Garcia by unanimous decision.
Ricky Simon def. Merab Dvalishvili via third-round TKO.
Siyar Bahadurzada def. Luan Chagas via second-round KO.
Corey Anderson def. Patrick Cummins via UD.
Tony Martin def. Keita Nakamura via UD.
