Ilia Topuria scores walk-off KO, calls out “b*tch,” Paddy Pimblett
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to us today, March 19, 2022, for UFC Fight Night 204, going down live from the O2 Arena in London, England.
Headlining the event is a heavyweight clash between former M-1 & Bellator champion Alexander Volkov (No. 6) and rising contender Tom Aspinall (No. 11).
Co-headlining the event is Dan Hooker’s return to the featherweight division, as he takes on No. 7 ranked Arnold Allen.
Kicking off the main card, Ilia Topuria steps up on short notice to take on Jai Herbert in a lightweight contest.
Jai Herbert enters this contest looking to make it 2 in a row after coming off of an impressive win over Khama Worthy. Although Herbert’s suffered 2 of his 3 losses within his last 3 bouts, the former Cage Warriors champion was on quite a tear before blasting onto the UFC platform, with his win over Worthy solidifying his place in the company.
Undefeated, Ilia Topuria enters this bout on short notice after a January matchup with two different opponents fell out. “El Matador” last saw the cage in 2021 when he was ground and pounding Ryan Hall en route to a first-round TKO.
Continue reading to see how the lightweight bout between Jai Herbert and Ilia “El Matador” Topuria went down at UFC Fight Night 204
Round 1: The fighters touch gloves and Herbert is the first to commit with several jabs to gauge distance. Herbert lands a hard left hook that staggers Topuria backward amid an exchange. Herbert lands a flush head kick that drops Topuria in his tracks. Herbert hesitates momentarily to pounce, thinking the bout is over. Topuria immediately grabs a leg in an attempt to recover. The bout gets back to the feet and Topuria scores a takedown, then passes to side control and peppers elbows to a grounded Herbert. Herbert is able to avoid any severe damage, resumes full guard and scramble back to his feet while Topuria has a hold of a single leg. With under 30 seconds left, Herbert lands a flush lead knee that sends Topuria’s mouthpiece flying. Herbert puts the pressure on for the remaining moments with his hands, landing several times before the bell.
MyMMANews scores round 1 for Jai Herbert. 10-8
Round 2: Herbert starts the round with several leading jabs followed by a lead knee. Topuria lands a flush right hand to Herbert’s jaw, putting him on his heels. Topuria continues his forward pressure, letting his hands go with Herbert looking to exchange, also. Topuria fires a 4-piece combination, finalizing with a left hook to the body and a cracking right hand over top that folds Herbert and sends him crashing to the canvas as Topuria walks off with his hand raised.
PERFECT right hand by @Topuriailia put him to SLEEP 😳 #UFCLondon pic.twitter.com/zIv27aUg0O
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) March 19, 2022
Official result: Ilia Topuria defeats Jai Herbert via KO at 1:07 round 2.
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