Aiemann Zahabi returned to the win column for the first time in nearly four years Saturday at UFC Fight Night 185.
Zahabi (8-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC), who has dealt with losses and injury layoffs over the past few years, scored a brutal one-punch knockout of Drako Rodriguez (7-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in their matchup at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
After Rodriguez weighed in at 140.5 pounds for the scheduled bantamweight bout, Zahabi made his opponent pay for coming in underprepared. He landed a bomb of a right hand early in the fight, dropping his foe for the knockout at the 3:05 mark of Round 1.
Check out the replay below (via Twitter):
OH MY GOODNESS! 😳@AiemannZahabi lands a flush KO! #UFCVegas19 pic.twitter.com/GpspRgAVAp
— UFC (@ufc) February 20, 2021
Making Canada proud! 🇨🇦 @AiemannZahabi is back in the win column.
[ We're LIVE on #ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/n118pkDjlc
— UFC (@ufc) February 20, 2021
It had been a long road for Zahabi to get his hand raised again, and afterward he was elated and specified that he wants to keep busy in 2021 with three fights.
“Winning in the UFC feels good, but you know what feels even better?” Zahabi said in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “Breaking a two-fight losing streak and getting a knockout in the UFC.”
