Mirsad Bektic landed a heavy blow to the body of Godofredo Pepey to earn the second body shot knockout of UFC Charlotte.
Mirsad Bektic is one of the top featherweight prospects in the UFC but came up short against Darren Elkins in his last contest. Bektic won in his first four Octagon appearances including a knockout and submission in the latter two. The Bosnian has had to deal with injuries throughout his UFC run, pulling out of three fights and making it to fight night five times.
Godofredo Pepey lives and dies by the sword with six of his 10 UFC fights ending before the final bell. Pepey had a scary three-fight run where he won by flying knee, triangle armbar, and flying triangle all in the first round. Since then, Pepey is 1-2, with the one victory coming via submission. He’ll attempt to bounce back from a loss to prospect Shane Burgos in his last contest.
Mirsad Bektic missed a leg kick then landed a hard right hand to start the fight. Godofredo Pepey threw a spin kick but missed, then hit the body in his next spin attempt. Bektic came up short with an overhand right then charged forward and got caught with a hard uppercut. Bektic survived by clinching up with Pepey briefly.
After the separation, Bektic put together a body kick to right-hand combination. Bektic reset then Pepey attempted a stepping knee. Bektic countered with a right straight to the body that knocked down the Brazilian. A few follow-up punches later and Bektic was back in the win column.
Following the quick finish, Bektic called for a performance bonus and the winner of the co-main event between Dennis Bermudez and Andre Fili. He also called out Dominick Cruz for saying that Bektic is not that comfortable on the feet.
Mirsad Bektic def. Godofredo Pepey by TKO (Body Punch) in Round 1 (2:47)
