UFC Saudi Arabia video: Shara Magomedov flattens exhausted Antonio Trocoli with late knockout

Shara Magomedov still got to deliver an emphatic finish even if his knockout came later than most expected at UFC Saudi Arabia.

Taking on late-replacement opponent Antonio Trocoli, the fighter known as “Shara Bullet” had to endure some takedown attempts and a lot of clinch work before finally getting the separation he needed to showcase his dazzling striking arsenal. With Trocoli running on fumes in Round 3, Magomedov blasted him with a knee up the middle before unloading a barrage of punches, capped off with a nasty left hook that put the Brazilan down and out for good.

Watch the finish below.

The end officially came at 2:27 in the third round.

“When I got this fight, I knew that he was really, really tall so I knew it was going to be hard to kick him,” Magomedov said after his win. “I was trying to time it for my knee. This is a huge honor for me to be on this first, historic card in Saudi Arabia.”

It was actually Trocoli who got Magomedov’s attention in Round 1 after he clipped the Dagestani born fight with a pair of stiff right hands while moving forward to close the distance against the cage. Unfortunately for Trocoli, he lost the position after referee Marc Goddard called for a break when Trocoli was caught grabbing onto the cage to maintain control on Magomedov.

On the restart, Magomedov showed off his fast footwork and quick kicks, but Trocoli wasted no time looking for the clinch again to stave off those dangerous striking attacks. While Trocoli marched forward in an effort to cut off the cage, Magomedov’s diversity on the feet kept giving him problems.

When Trocoli finally got in deep on a takedown attempt, Magomedov countered with a blatant fence grab, but Goddard didn’t call it or penalize him for the foul. As a result, Trocoli had to relinquish the hold and reset in the center of the cage.

With five minutes remaining, Trocoli’s movement was visibly labored with and Magomedov started picking him apart with his striking. Magomedov began landing shots at will as Trocoli shifted into survival mode, just hoping he could make it to the final horn.

That’s when Trocoli made the ill-fated mistake of ducking his head down during an exchange and Magomedov met him with a knee up the middle. Magomedov then surged ahead with punches in succession until he connected with the left hook that shut Trocoli down.

Now 2-0 in the UFC, Magomedov seems like a fun prospect to watch, but is still a long way from becoming a real threat in his division. Still, it was another impressive win on a big stage with hopes that he can do even more in his next fight in the UFC.