After not one but two opponents fell through, it was newcomer Antonio Trocoli that wound up facing Shara Magomedov at UFC Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
In a curious turn of events, Trocoli had been scheduled to face Ikram Aliskerov a week earlier. However, with Ihor Poteria out and replacement Jailton Lutterbach flagged for a failed drug test, Trocoli stepped in, having lost opponent Aliskerov to the UFC Saudi Arabia main event, where he faced Robert Whittaker.
Trocoli went right after Shara “Bullet” in this main card middleweight match-up, throwing hands with Magomedov up against the fence. He then clinched up, looking to use his power to get the fight down while mixing in right hands. Try as he might, however, Trocoli could not dump Magomedov, who showed some impressive balance, using one leg to block the takedown. Having noticed Trocoli grappling the fence, ref Marc Goddard took the position away, restarting the action at center following a stern warning.
Magomedov, off the restart, went high, then low twice his his kicks. He added a question mark kick and oblique kick, keeping Trocoli guessing. Trocoli let his hands to again; Shara answered with a left. Another clinch saw Trocoli again looking for a takedown, but again, Magomedov defended, going to one knee only briefly.
The kicking attacks continued from Shara Magomedov in round two; he added in a spinning back fist. Trocoli looked to clinch about a minute in, but couldn’t hang onto it. More kicks from Magomedov, lots of back-and-forth, and then, in the final minute of the round, Shara took advantage of a fence grab. The ref waved his finger, but didn’t take a point or take away the position. In the dying seconds of the frame, Shara Magomedov landed a head kick that was blocked.
Round three played out on the feet early on, with Magomedov flashing a front kick that nearly did serious damage about 90 seconds in. Shara went back to his leg kicks, then landed a knee as Trocoli changed levels, and a right hand that hurt him badly. Shara, sensing the finish was near, unloaded with punches, to the body and up top. Antonio Trocoli dropped down off a hook, and that was the fight!
Official Result: Shara Magomedov def. Antonio Trocoli by KO, Round 3, 2:27
