UFC veteran Fabio Maldonado is known for having one of the best chins in the sport, but fellow ex-UFC fighter Nikita Krylov was able to crack it in dramatic fashion in Saturday’s Fight Nights Global 87 co-main event in Russia.
Maldonado entered the contest as FNG’s reigning light heavyweight champion, having submitted Kurban Omarov via guillotine choke last September. Krylov was coming off a huge KO of former Bellator champion Emanuel Newton, in what was Nikita’s third fight since leaving the UFC.
The fight almost ended shortly after it began, as Krylov punted Maldonado right in the groin just 12 seconds into the fight.