Fares Ziam delivered one of the most vicious knockouts the UFC has ever seen last night.
It was the very first bout of the main card at UFC Fight Night 243 that sent the Paris crowd into bedlam last night.
GettyZiam’s KO left his opponent unconscious[/caption]
France’s Ziam, who was contesting his eighth bout in the UFC, went head-to-head with Matt Frevola, 34, in the lightweight division.
He largely controlled the first two rounds before delivering a devastating blow that knocked Frevola out cold.
The KO was so good that Dana White awarded Ziam a $50,000 bonus as one of the best performers on the night.
It was the 27-year-old’s first-ever finish to a fight in the UFC and also his inaugural $50K bonus.
“It couldn’t have gone any better,” Ziam said in his post-fight octagon interview.
“I called out Matt Frevola a year ago because I wanted someone in the rankings at the time. He isn’t now but I wanted this fight to show that I’m the strongest one and that’s what I showed, I’m the strongest one tonight.”
Both men displayed quality wrestling in the first round, but Ziam was able to get the better of Frevola on the feet.
The ‘Smile Killer’ then came close to knocking down Frevola towards the end of round one, but the American survived.
Frevola often remained active in round two and kept coming back at Ziam with grit and determination, amid the onslaught of punches coming his way.
As round two concluded, he was able to gain control of the Frenchman’s back and seemed far more comfortable on the canvas than on his feet.
Ziam set up the finish with his right handTNT Sports
He drove his knee upwardsTNT Sports
And it instantly knocked him out
Leaving him out cold on the canvas
In the final round, it seemed like Ziam knew he could get the first finish of his professional career, and so he did in incredible fashion.
He dragged Frevola to the side of the octagon, leaning all of his weight on him, attempting to drain any energy the American had left in him.
Then, on the exit of the clinch, Ziam guided Frevola’s head into an upright position with his right hand and followed up with a destructive knee that knocked out Frevola instantly.
As Michael Bisping said on commentary, Frevola was completely unconscious and not moving, in what turned out to be a frightening finish to the fight.
One fan deemed the KO as ‘ultra-violent’, while another added: “One of the most brutal knockouts I’ve ever seen.”
A third user said: “Cleanest knee I’ve seen. Brutal knockout!”, while a fourth called the KO ‘outrageous’.
The French crowd were certainly entertained in Paris.
Ziam’s KO was shortly followed by another bonus-earning finish, as Morgan Charriere clinically ended his fight with Gabriel Miranda after two rounds.
And the main event of the night witnessed a bloody affair as Renato Moicano was victorious over Benoit Saint Denis due to a doctor’s stoppage for the latter.
