Abdul Razak Alhassan repeated his victorious performance from UFC 218 with another first-round knockout of Sabah Homasi at UFC 220 in Boston.
Proper rematches don’t always happen in sports, but the UFC did the right thing getting Abdul Razak Alhassan and Sabah Homasi back in the Octagon at UFC 220. The welterweight duo fought back at UFC 218 in Detroit. While Alhassan earned the TKO victory late in the first round, an early-stoppage by referee Herb Dean marred what was a very competitive and entertaining bout. So, the promotion booked the fight once more, less than two months later.
With the win at UFC 218, Alhassan improved to 8-1 in his career, and 2-1 in the promotion. The lone loss of the 32-year-old’s career came at UFC Stockholm last May, when Alhassan lost a split-decision to Omari Akhmedov. Going into UFC 220, it was only fight of Alhassan’s career to go the distance.
Although he felt hard-done by the stoppage in Detroit, Homasi should’ve been happy for the opportunity to run things back with Alhassan. The 29-year-old is 11-7 in his career, and is 0-2 since joining the UFC in 2016. Although he’s 3-2 over his last five bouts, Homasi was looking for a much needed victory against a quality opponent heading into Boston.
After finding the range and trading strikes throughout the first minute of the fight, Alhassan and Homasi traded significant strikes in the clinch. We were quickly reminded why a rematch was so easy to book. Following a knee to the body, Homasi went for a takedown, but was unable to get Alhassan to the ground. The duo then traded a couple of hooks before Homasi once again shot for a takedown. This time, Homasi was successful.
Homasi struggled to turn the takedown into significant control. Then, the fight was stopped and moved to the feet by the referee. Alhassan landed a heavy right hook behind the ear of Homasi shortly thereafter, rocking him and putting Homasi on the back foot. With his opponent rocked, Alhassan landed a huge right uppercut, knocking Homasi out before he hit the canvas.
The victory was Alhassan’s was the ninth of his career, and the ninth first-round finish of his career. There are plenty of worthwhile contenders at 170-pounds for an exciting finisher like Alhassan to face next. For Homasi, it was his third loss in three UFC appearances. The first bout between the duo may have been a questionable stoppage, there was no doubting Alhassan’s superior talent at UFC 220.
Abdul Razak Alhassan def. Sabah Homasi via KO (punch) at 3:47 of R1
