Chilean kickboxer Ignacio Bahamondes rebounded by knocking out grappler Christos Giagos at UFC Vegas 89.
After suffering his second UFC loss, and his first since 2021, the twenty-six year old Bahamondes faced another tough stylistic test as wrestling has proven to be a potential issue for him. He had to prove he had learned from his loss to L’udovit Klein as he took on UFC veteran Giagos, and did just that by defending the takedowns.
The length of Bahamondes gave him a seemingly clear advantage on the feet but Giagos reddened his nose early with a jab. However, Christos failed his first takedown and the striking of Ignacio began to take over. He landed a spinning hook kick that Giagos ate but then a big body kick hurt Giagos moreso. ‘La Jaula’ followed up with a flurry but his foe lived up to his nickname, ‘the Spartan,’ and pushed through with toughness to survive. Bahamondes began to find somewhat of a flowstate, popping Giagos with clean punches and avoiding any return. Then, as quickly as it had started, the fight was over. Ignacio Bahamondes landed a beautiful walk-off KO with a left round kick to the head. As Giagos slumped against the fence, the referee saw he was done and waved off the fight.
With this result Ignacio improved to 4-2 in the UFC and notched his second highlight-reel, walk-off head kick knockout in those fights. At only twenty-six, the Chilean has a bright future. Even if he can never be a top contender, he can clearly make a killing in post-fight bonuses.
He will surely need the money, as in his post-fight interview he revealed that his wife is five months pregnant, so he will be a new father soon.
Official Result: Ignacio Bahamondes def Christos Giagos by Knockout (head kick), Round 1, 3:34
