Abdul Razak Alhassan added another spectacular rapid-fire KO to his highlights reel with a 17-second demolition of Alessio Di Chirico in their middleweight contest in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
Looking to bounce back from a three-fight losing skid, Alhassan felled his Italian rival with a brutal head-kick with the bout barely started at the UFC Apex.
With Di Chirico crumpled against the cage, Alhassan didn’t concern himself with attempting further strikes, simply walking away from his dazed opponent and making a ‘finished’ gesture with his arms.
ABDUL RAZAK ALHASSAN SNAPS HIS 3 FIGHT SKID IN 17 SECONDS #UFCVegas35 pic.twitter.com/jOFn1yzT5a
— the liam😈 (@xdliamm) August 29, 2021
“My goodness, one and done with the leg kick,” said the UFC commentary team as they watched in awe at the violently abrupt conclusion.
Online, reigning UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling was among those suitably impressed by the finish – as was former two-weight king Daniel Cormier.
WHATTTT???!?!!! INSANE HEADKICK KO!!! #UFCVegas35
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) August 29, 2021
Holy schmokes!!!!!! #UFCVegas35 Abdul razak al Hassan sheesh
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) August 29, 2021
Abdul Razak Alhassan asking Dana for the 50k #UFCVegas35 pic.twitter.com/HOVjJxaxlf
— ArcherMMA (@ArcherMMA) August 29, 2021
Alhassan, 36, picked up a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus for his explosive finish, bouncing back into the win column after three successive losses.
The quick-fire finish also meant he became only the seventh UFC fighter to earn three or more knockouts in under a minute each – having stopped Niko Price in 43 seconds of their 2018 contest and needing 53 seconds to KO Charlie Ward on his promotion debut in 2016.
Remarkably, each of Alhassan’s 11 career wins have come inside the first round.
💥 @JudoRazak becomes just the 7th fighter in UFC history to earn three or more knockouts in under a minute each Eyes
— UFC (@ufc) August 29, 2021
[ #UFCVegas35 live on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/uRtTKZrQPC
“I cannot wait to tell [my son] daddy won,” Alhassan said after his latest demolition.
“It’s something we’ve been practicing. It was actually supposed to be the left kick. I saw his head go that way and I just threw it.”
Fighting out of Texas but of Ghanaian descent, ‘Judo Thunder’ Alhassan improved his record to 5-4 inside the UFC octagon.
Meanwhile, the 31-year-old Di Chirico suffered his fourth defeat in his last five fights and a sixth loss in his 10 UFC octagon outings.