Heavy hitter Abdul Razak Alhassan has had a rough go of it of late, going 1-4 in his last five after starting his UFC career 4-1 with four knockouts. He recently moved to Elevation Fight Team in Denver to revamp his skillset and cardio. At UFC Vegas 67, Alhassan looked to rebound against debutante Claudio Ribeiro, who earned a spot in the UFC on DWCS with a twenty-five second KO.
Both men are serious knockout artists, so this one seemed unlikely to last long.
The fight started with big calf kicks from Ribeiro while Alhassan pressed slowly forward. Alhassan whiffed a big overhand in response. Fifty seconds into the round Abdul shot in for a double leg against the fence. His shot started out well but Ribeiro defended well with an overhook and a wide base. After a minute of clinching, Ribeiro broke free. Alhassan was low volume while Ribeiro threw a lot more offense. Alhassan shot another takedown but did not even get close to landing it this time. Alhassan landed a big flurry that may have hurt his opponent right before the bell, after he controlled Ribeiro for the latter half of the first round.
The second round opened the same way as the first, with big calf kicks from Ribeiro. Alhassan fired back and hurt his opponent immediately this time, and then followed up with a massive flurry that put the Brazilian out on his feet. Ribeiro fell back against the fence and Mark Smith stepped in to stop the fight. This was Alhassan’s first win and first KO since 2021 as he got back on his form.
Official Result: Abdul Razak Alhassan def. Claudio Ribeiro by KO (punches), Round 2, 0:28
