UFC Baku fighter predicted first-punch KO, got sparked in 8 seconds

UFC heavyweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">light heavyweight Julius Walker predicted he would knock out Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev with his opening punch at UFC Baku. Instead, Yakhyaev dropped him in eight seconds with the first strike of the fight.

Four days before stepping into the cage at National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan, Walker sat for an interview with YouTuber Carlo Perruzza and laid out his ideal scenario, per MMA Mania. "Dude, in a perfect world, I knock him out with the first punch," Walker said. "I throw a jab, and it just decapitates him."

Yakhyaev lands first, earns second-fastest heavyweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">light heavyweight KO in UFC history

The finish went the opposite direction. Yakhyaev connected first, flash-knocked Walker unconscious, and followed with ground strikes before the referee stopped it Saturday night. The stoppage clocked in as the seventh-fastest knockout in UFC history and the second-fastest ever at 205 pounds.

Walker posted a statement hours after the event acknowledging the brutal result but focusing on the work that went into camp. "Obviously, I am extremely disappointed with getting KO'd in 8 seconds," he wrote, as reported by MMA Mania. "After the fight I couldn't stop thinking about how much went into me going out there and getting dropped with the first punch. My family went 2 months without me, my sponsors invested heavily in me, my team and my coaches spent hours preparing me and traveling to be here."

The 26-year-old added that he would return to work soon but planned to spend time with family first. Walker drops to 7-3 overall and 1-3 in the UFC, with back-to-back losses for the first time in his career.

Original reporting:

• mmamania.com — UFC Baku Fighter’s KO Prediction Backfires Horribly | MMA Mania