Watch UFC’s Magomed Ankalaev Kick His Opponent’s Chin ‘Into Orbit’

Saturday, UFC fighters faced off in Moscow for a series of international bouts. The focus was on former NFL star Greg Hardy, who had stepped into the lineup on very short notice, but he wasn’t the only fighter drawing attention. In fact, Magomed Ankalaev turned in one of the biggest performances when he knocked out his opponent, Dalcha Lungiambula, with a front kick to the chin.

With 4:31 remaining in the round, Ankalaev and Lungiambula were dancing around looking for openings in each other’s defense. It appeared that a jab would be thrown, but Ankalaev caught everyone off-guard and used the kick. He caught his opponent directly on the chin and knocked him to the mat.

“He kicked his chin into orbit!” one announcer yelled as the fight was stopped by the referees. With this victory, Ankalaev moved to 11-1 in his MMA career and 2-1 in the UFC.

With this performance at CSKA Arena in Russia, Ankalaev secured a $50,000 bonus from the UFC. Ankalaev is the winner of three consecutive fights at the 205-pound division. He started out with a loss by submission to Paul Craig in March, but the finisher in Ankalaev has been on a winning streak.

This battle in Moscow was only the latest example. Ankalaev was in complete control of the bout for the first two rounds while using a mixture of punches and kicks, and he likely would have taken the fight by unanimous decision. However, ending this battle with the kick to the chin left no question as to whether or not he would be named the victor on Saturday night.

The South African in Lungiambula, on the other hand, suffered his first defeat in the UFC and only the second in his 12-fight professional career. His first bout in the UFC was a victory over Dequan Townsend, which he achieved in the third round.

While he certainly wasn’t excited to be on the losing end of this battle with Ankalaev, the man known as “Champion” was happy that he made the trip to Russia.

“To my family, crew, all my fans and the UFC team in Russia. Thank you for a great experience,” Lungiambula wrote on Twitter alongside a photo montage from the journey.

Photo Credit: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Getty