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Chimaev steal show in Vegas with stunning KO


Field Level Media
20 Sep 2020

Colby Covington won the main event at UFC Fight Night, but Saturday's biggest winner may have been Khamzat Chimaev.

On a night that Covington beat former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley by a fifth-round technical knockout to cap the card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, much of the buzz afterward continued to focus on the third-to-last fight of the night, a middleweight bout between Chimaev, in his third UFC fight, and Gerald Meerschaert, a veteran of 12 fights.

And it took Chimaev only 17 seconds to steal the show, as that's how long it took the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Swede to drop Meerschaert with one punch and score a stunning knockout.

The win improved Chimaev to 9-0-0 overall and gave him his third UFC win in his 66th day with the company -- a UFC record.

"Fifty G's, baby!" Chimaev reportedly yelled after the knockout, referring to the $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus. UFC awards $50,000 apiece to the two fighters it believes turns in the night's best performances.

Chimaev has now out-landed his opponents 196-2 in his three fights.

"If you win your fights like that, everybody loves you," Chimaev said after the fight. "I'm just going to keep going ... smashing people."

After the fight, Chimaev took to Twitter to begin calling out Conor McGregor. Meerschaert fell to 31-14 with the loss.

In the main event, Covington, the No. 2-ranked welterweight in the UFC rankings, dominated Woodley through four rounds, leaving Woodley's corner to tell their fighter he needed to score a finish in the final round to win the fight.

Instead, Covington (16-2) took Woodley (19-6-1) to the mat -- something Covington pulled off multiple times in the fight -- and Woodley soon yelled out in pain with an apparent rib injury. Referee Dan Miragoliotta called the fight at 1:19 of the fifth round.

"I want my belt back!" the former welterweight champion Covington yelled after the decision. He then screamed out "You're next" in calling out welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, as well as No. 4-ranked Jorge Masvidal. After the fight, UFC president Dana White said top-ranked contender Gilbert Burns gets the next shot at Usman, then added, "Maybe (Covington) fights Masvidal, if Masvidal wants that fight."

Also on Saturday night's main card, Kevin Holland (19-5) beat Darren Stewart (12-6, 1 no contest) via split decision in a middleweight bout; Mackenzie Dern improved to 9-1 via first-round submission over Randa Markos (10-10-1) in a strawweight fight; and Johnny Walker (18-5) beat Ryan Spann (18-6) with a first-round knockout in a light-heavyweight fight.

And in the night's main undercard fight, veteran welterweight star Donald Cerrone and Niko Price fought to a majority draw, with a one-point deduction ultimately costing Price.

Two judges scored the fight 28-28 and a third had it 29-27 in favor of Cerrone.

Price (14-4, 1 NC) was deducted the point after a second eye poke in the first round. Cerrone is now 15-1, 1 NC.

--Field Level Media

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