Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev needed exactly one punch to make a statement.
The undefeated Russian barely gave Julius Walker a chance to settle into the fight, detonating a crushing right hand seconds after the opening bell that shut the lights out and delivered one of the fastest, most devastating knockouts of the night at UFC Baku on Saturday. If there were any questions about Yakhyaev’s place in the division before this fight, they disappeared the moment Walker hit the canvas.
Round 1 – Yakhyaev wasted absolutely no time.
As soon as the fight started, he uncorked a bomb of a right hand that landed clean and shut Walker’s lights off. Walker hit the canvas in a heap, and when he finally came to, he looked completely confused, like he was trying to figure out where he was and what just happened.
A couple of follow up shots landed before the referee stepped in, but they really weren’t needed. The fight was over the second that right hand connected.
It was a scary display of power from Yakhyaev, who needed just one punch to end the fight and put the rest of the division on notice.
The victory may be exactly what Yakhyaev needed to carve his way into the top 15 and into a big time matchup with contender implications sooner than later.
Official Result: Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev def. Julius Walker via R1 KO, 0:08
