LAS VEGAS – A new heavyweight contender could be in the making.
In the UFC 296 preliminary card opener, promotional debutant Shamil Gaziev walked through Martin Buday for a standing TKO stoppage at 0:56 of Round 2. The event took place at T-Mobile Arena.
From the opening bell, Gaziev (12-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) damaged Buday (13-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) with punches of all variations. Even his jabs seemed to get a big reaction out of Buday, who was quickly sliced up and bleeding.
Midway through Round 1, referee Mark Smith had the doctor examine Buday’s lacerations. Again, at the start of Round 2, the doctor came in. Both times, the doctor gave the thumbs up and the fight was allowed to continue.
It didn’t take long for the fight to be called off after the doctor left in Round 2, however, as Buday absorbed blow after blow from an aggressive Gaziev. Although he never went down, Buday didn’t intelligently defend himself. He just covered up along the fence.
Shamil Gaziev moves to 12-0 with a win in his UFC debut 💪 #UFC296
Stream #UFC296 on ESPN2 and ESPN+ 🍿 https://t.co/R7p1InbYK6 pic.twitter.com/9mhPhkgpMP
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 16, 2023
Gaziev’s debut was a successful one. It came after a contract-earning finish of Greg Velasco on “Dana White’s Contender Series” in September.
On the flip side, Buday loses for the first time under the promotion’s banner. He was briefly ranked in the promotion’s official rankings but had recently fallen out. Buday signed a new multi-fight deal with the promotion before the bout.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 296.
