Gleison Tibau’s comeback party was ruined by Islam Makhachev’s cinder-block fists.
26 months after his last trip to the Octagon, Gleison Tibau was knocked out cold by Islam Makhachev.
Tibau returned at UFC 220 for the first time since his fight against Abel Trujillo was overturned to disqualification due to two positive drug tests. The Brazilian was handed a two-year USADA suspension after testing positive for EPO in in-competition and out-of-competition tests.
One punch is all it took for Makhachev to spoil his return in the UFC 220 curtain-raiser. The Combat Sambo world champion faked with his right before landing a left hand that would have dropped Lucifer himself. Tibau crumbled and the Dagestani landed a couple of extra shots on the canvas before referee Dan Miragliotta stepped in.
Makhachev was awarded the knockout victory at 0:57 of the first round.
OUT OF NOWHERE!@MakhachevMMA opens up #UFC220 with a BANG! pic.twitter.com/gz3bS2lY6a
— UFC (@ufc) January 21, 2018
Fellow Dagestani Khabib Nurmagomedov was in Makhachev’s corner on the night. The Eagle wasn’t his usual stoic self when that coup de grace landed flush.
As soon as the haymaker found home, his eyes widened with anticipation. When the referee intervened, he cheered loudly and slammed his hand down in celebration. He displayed more emotion in those five seconds than he showed in his entire UFC career prior to the card.
The result sees Tibau fall to three consecutive losses. Makhachev, on the other hand, improves to three-straight wins. When he grabbed hold of the mic, he used the opportunity to call out former interim title contender Kevin Lee.
“Gleison is a tough opponent. This is the UFC, with small gloves. One punch and I can lose – but today I won. Gleison Tibau is a legend and I respect him very much. He has a lot of fights in the UFC. He’s beat a lot of tough guys.”
“In the top 15, there are a lot of bum opponents. I think the number one bum opponent is Kevin Lee. UFC, give me Kevin Lee.”
