Ikram Aliskerov storms through Warlley Alves with flying knee knockout at UFC 294
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to us today, October 21, 2023, for UFC 294, going down live from the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
Headlining the event is a championship rematch at 155 lbs between UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev (24-1) and UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski (26-2).
Co-headlining the event is a middleweight affair between former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman (20-3) and fellow top contender Khamzat Chimaev (12-0).
Our first feature fight of the evening came in the middleweight division between Ikram Aliskerov (15-1) and Warlley Alves (14-7). Aliskerov was originally slated to face no. 11 ranked Nassourdine Imavov, however, Imavov was forced from the contest with VISA issues and replaced by Alves.
Aliskerov had only fought once in the UFC prior, picking up a first round KO win over former kickboxer Phil Hawes. What’s more, he came into the bout on a six-fight win streak, three of them coming via kimura, and he’s a four-time world champion in combat sambo that had only ever lost to Khamzat Chimaev in his MMA career.
Alves on the other hand hadn’t done too well in recent outings, going 4-6 over his last 10 bouts after opening up his career with a perfect 10-0 record (4-0 in UFC, TUF Brazil 3 winner, went 3-0 on the show).
Alves’ biggest accomplishment however is the fact that he’s the only person not named Kamaru Usman that has defeated Colby Covington, which he did by breaking Covington’s rib with a body kick before sinking in a guillotine choke finish just 86 seconds into the opening round, handing Covington his first career defeat back in 2015.
Continue reading to see how our middleweight feature went down:
Official Result: Ikram Aliskerov def. Warlley Alves via TKO (flying knee & punches) at 2:07 of round one
Both men settle into the fight early, confidently throwing punches and kicks toward one another. Aliskerov drops Alves with a jab about two minutes into the opening round, landing a beautiful flying knee shortly following. A few follow up punches cause Alves to drop for a second time, forcing the referee to stop the action.
Two UFC fights , two first round finishes for @ikram_aliskerov !! Who should he fight next?? #UFC294 #UFC #MMA
pic.twitter.com/4bBNX2d65k— Fight Global (@FightGlobalMMA) October 21, 2023
Ikram Aliskerov improves to 2-0 in the promotion today at UFC 294, both wins coming via first round knockout.
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