Azamat Murzakanov opened UFC Fight Night 203 with an electric knockout of Tafon Nchukwi.
Murzakanov (11-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) added to his unbeaten record Saturday when he landed a flying knee in the third round of the light heavyweight bout to knock out Nchukwi (6-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
After controlling the action for the first and second round, Murzakanov came out looking to close out in the third. He did just that, leaping into a flying knee that instantly put Nchukwi out 44 seconds into the round.
Check out the replay below (via Twitter):
A flying knee knockout to start #UFCVegas50 💥 pic.twitter.com/8n8kfZQfuf
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) March 12, 2022
What a way to win your UFC debut 👏
[ #UFCVegas50 | Prelims are LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/1WspJftQEY
— UFC (@ufc) March 12, 2022
After the fight, Murzakanov said he was pleased with the way his UFC debut came to an end.
“Thank you to the opponent for taking this fight,” Murzakanov said through an interpreter during his interview with Paul Felder. “It wasn’t easy. It was a tough fight. We train for any situation, but it’s key to, before the end of the fight, to find the key to the victory.”