Muslim Salikhov spent most of his fight with Nordine Taleb at UFC 242 getting a feel for his opponent, but once his timing and range were down, it was over in a flash.
A former Ring of Combat champion and veteran of two seasons of The Ultimate Fighter, Canada’s Nordine Taleb had a tough assignment in front of him at UFC 242. Muslim Salikhov was coming off a knockout of Ricky Rainey, and was 14-2 in his career over all.
He showed why Satirday at UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi.
Round 1:
A feeling out process played out early in this one, with Taleb firing off a high kick, which Salikhov answered with a kick to the lead leg. He’d go back to that, but neither men got their hands going through the first ninety seconds. A spinning kick then connected on Taleb, forcing him back. However, Salikhov could not follow up after falling victim to a low blow.
Back underway, Salikhov once again landed a kick on the lead leg of Taleb, heavier than many of his earlier attacks. Taleb answered back with a low kick of his own. The Canadian then fired off and connected with a jab, but neither man had put together any combinations. Instead, Salikhov was loading up on right hands. A high kick by Taleb was partially blocked; Nordine, however, was showing some damage on his leg already. However, the leg wouldn’t bother him much longer — because a right hand absolutely floored Nordine Taleb moments later! Taleb’s head bounced off the canvas once, twice, and the fight was done, with the ref quickly saving the fallen fighter from any follow-up strikes. While it was ruled a TKO, it was as clean as they come.
Official Result: Muslim Salikov def. Nordine Taleb by TKO, Round 1, 4:26
