UFC Moscow: Zabeast gets the job done but Danny Roberts lights up with sensational KO

Take a bow Hot Chocolate...

By / UFC / 4 years ago

Russian featherweight contender Zabit Magomedsharipov produced a winning performance in the main event of UFC Moscow on Saturday night, but he found it hard going against American Calvin Kattar at the CSKA Arena as he took a unanimous decision victory.

“Zabeast” polled scores of 29-28 on all three scorecards, but when the final horn sounded, it was Kattar who was very much on top after taking the third round of the contest.

Usually, main event fights are contested over five rounds, but with the bout being moved from a main card fight in Boston to a main event fight in Moscow on relatively short notice, Magomedsharipov’s team requested it remain as a three-rounder. And that fact may have been a crucial factor in their man’s victory, with Kattar seemingly enjoying his second wind mid-way through the last round.

Ultimately, though, it was Zabit’s wide-ranging, spectacular striking through the first two rounds that gave him the win and extended his perfect run of form in the UFC to six fights in a row.

HARDY OUTCLASSED BY DRAGO

Greg Hardy gamely stepped up on two weeks’ notice to take on six-foot-seven Russian striker Alexander Volkov in the night’s heavyweight co-main event, but was unable to make an impact as he was comprehensively outboxed by the former Bellator heavyweight champion en route to a unanimous decision loss.

Volkov dominated the bout from start to finish against Hardy, who appeared to sustain an injury to his power hand, his right, at the end of the first round. It left the former NFL star without his main weapon for the rest of the fight as Volkov cruised to a win on the scorecards.

‘HOT CHOCOLATE’ MELTS IMADAEV WITH STUNNING KO

British welterweight Danny “Hot Chocolate” Roberts produced one of the highlight-reel moments of the night with a stunning one-punch KO in the second round against noted Russian finisher Zelim Imadaev.

Imadaev had claimed all eight of his career wins by knockout, but it was Roberts who dished out the KO as he delivered a spectacular left hook that spun the Russian 180 degrees as he crashed to the canvas.

It was a hell of a knockout for Roberts, whose KO looked remarkably similar to the one he delivered at UFC London last year. Take a look for yourselves.

ANKALAEV ANNOUNCES HIMSELF AS A LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT THREAT

To most MMA fans outside of Russia, Magomed Ankalaev’s main claim to fame was being the victim of a last-gasp submission when he was finished in the very last second of his fight with Scotland’s Paul Craig at UFC London last year.

But that defeat was the only loss of the Russian light heavyweight’s career, and Ankalaev used his showcase on home soil to announce his presence as a major threat to the division’s best as he produced a brilliant front-kick KO that had the Moscow crowd off their seats.

Ankalaev was already well on the way to victory against South Africa’s two-division EFC world champion Dalcha Lungiambula when he connected with an incredible front kick to the face that reminded us of Anderson Silva’s legendary KO of Vitor Belfort back in the day.

It was fast, it was powerful and it gave Ankalaev the biggest win of his career. Expect big things from this guy in 2020.

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