Aleksandar Rakic teed up the left head kick and landed it perfectly on the side of Jimi Manuwa’s head.
Manuwa (17-6 MMA, 6-6 UFC) was out before he hit the floor, and Rakic (12-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) had himself a knockout victory just 47 seconds into the first round.
The light heavyweight bout was the co-main event of Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 11 event at Ericcson Globe in Stockholm. It streamed on ESPN+.
The fight was barely through its feeling out period when Rakic brought matters to a violent end. With Manuwa backing up in the center of the cage, Rakic launched a left leg head kick that leveled Manuwa immediately.
There was no doubt as to the outcome from the moment the blow landed. Manuwa fell flat on his back with his arms lying limply at his sides. As Rakic celebrated, cageside attendants moved to help Manuwa, who soon regained consciousness and was sitting up in the cage by the time of the official announcement.
With the win, Rakic remains perfect in the UFC, extending his overall winning streak to 12 straight fights. Manuwa has now lost three straight.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN+ 11 results include:
- Aleksandar Rakic def. Jimi Manuwa via knockout (head kick) – Round 1, 0:47
- Makwan Amirkhani def. Chris Fishgold via submission (anaconda choke) – Round 2, 4:25
- Christos Giagos def. Damir Hadzovic via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-28)
- Daniel Teymur def. Sung Bin Jo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Sergey Khandozhko def. Rostem Akman via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Lina Lansberg def. Tonya Evinger via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-26)
- Leonardo Santos def. Stevie Ray via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 2:17
- Frank Camacho def. Nick Hein via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 4:56
- Bea Malecki def. Eduarda Santana via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:59
- Devin Clark def. Darko Stosic via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Joel Alvarez def. Danilo Belluardo via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 2:22
For complete coverage of UFC on ESPN+ 11, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
