Nassourdine Imamov blasted out the former champion, Israel Adesanya inside two rounds, as the Nigerian NewZealnder lost his third consecutive fights.
Adesanya had put his demons to bed in April 2023 by knocking out Alex Pereira at the fourth time of asking to regain the UFC middleweight strap before Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis handed him back-to-back defeats.
Heading into his fight with Imamov he needed a win to stay at the middleweight top table but Imamov denied him that privilege in devastating fashion.
Adesanya got off to a decent start, landing several heavy leg kicks and making good use of his in-and-out footwork while Imamov plodded forward looking to sit down on his shots.
Towards the back end of the opening stanza, the Frenchman landed a big right hand, which foreshadowed things to come.
Adesanya wore it well but the next time Imamov connected with the same shot it lifted him off his feet.
On his way down, Imamov narrowly missed with a follow-up left hook before connecting with a booming left uppercut and then a flurry of shots to his grounded foe that left the referee with no choice but to step in.
Adesanya appeared to briefly protest the stoppage but there was no denying things would only have got worse if the official hadn’t waved it off.
Everyone in attendance at the AnB arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia was left stunned by the finish including Adesanya who banged the canvas in fury as the result sunk in.
Israel Adesanya bursts into tears during emotional weight cut before Imavov fight
He showed his class by sticking around to congratulate Imamov but left the Octagon without giving an interview.
The Nigerian-born New Zealander will now be left to contemplate his career in the face of defeat.
Adesanya has enjoyed a legendary career up to this point.
He is second for the most consecutive middleweight title defences with 5 behind Anderson Silva (10) and has defeated most of the best fighters from his generation including Robert Whittaker, Yoel Romero, and Pereira.
After everything the 35-year-old has achieved in the sport, the long-winding road back to the top may not be an appealing proposition for ‘The Last Stylebender’.
