The prelims for UFC Baku were largely highlighted by the promotional debuts of four different fighters, but that portion of the card also featured the return of undefeated finishing machine Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev to take on Julius Walker. <\/p>\n
\u00a0Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev Runs Through Julius Walker at UFC Baku<\/p>\n
A contract winner on last year\u2019s edition of Dana White\u2019s Contender Series, Yakhyaev made an immediate impression in his UFC debut in November when he submitted Raffael Cerqueira in just 33 seconds<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cThe Hunter\u201d returned last April and also submitted Brendson Ribeiro in the opening round to give him five-straight first round finishes and an impressive eight stoppages out of his nine career wins. That finishing pedigree helped make Yakhyaev a significant favorite against Walker, who came into UFC Baku after being knocked out by Dustin Jacoby in his third UFC outing last February. <\/p>\n You don’t want to miss this \ud83c\udf7f@YakhyaevMMA<\/a> vs Julius Walker<\/p>\n [ #UFCBaku<\/a> | LIVE NOW on @ParamountPlus<\/a> ] pic.twitter.com\/HDmZbwlFK1<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 UFC (@ufc) June 27, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Even those expecting another quick win from Yakhyaev could never have predicted how quickly things would end in Baku, as the 25-year-old dropped Walker with the first punch he threw and dove in to land some brutal follow-up shots on the ground before the referee jumped in to end things. <\/p>\n OH. MY. GOODNESS.@YakhyaevMMA<\/a> needed less than 10 seconds for the finish!<\/p>\n [ #UFCBaku<\/a> | LIVE NOW on @ParamountPlus<\/a> ] pic.twitter.com\/HNDhaKfkpH<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 UFC (@ufc) June 27, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The result was officially announced as an eight-second knockout, although Yakhyaev may not even have needed to jump in and land any ground strikes given the way Walker hit the canvas. The win was easily the fastest of Yakhyaev\u2019s career (although he does boast three other finishes in under a minute), and is now tied for the second fastest knockout in UFC light heavyweight history.<\/p>\n THE. REAL. DEAL.<\/p>\n [ @YakhyaevMMA<\/a> | #UFCBaku<\/a> | LIVE NOW on @ParamountPlus<\/a> ] pic.twitter.com\/LqdqwZnMIR<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 UFC (@ufc) June 27, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Speaking to Michael Bisping after the fight, Yakhyaev indicated that he fully intends to try and outdo himself by securing a record-setting finish at some point in the future. <\/p>\n He comes to make records \ud83e\udee1<\/p>\n [ @YakhyaevMMA<\/a> | #UFCBaku<\/a> | LIVE NOW on @ParamountPlus<\/a> ] pic.twitter.com\/NmxDeQ0dxF<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 UFC (@ufc) June 27, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The eight-second finish was the third knockout on the UFC Baku prelims, which opened with Tahir Adullayev\u2019s third-round TKO of the formerly-undefeated Jefferson Nascimento. Following Jean Matsumoto\u2019s decision-win over Bekzat Almakhan, Daniil Donchenko stopped Theodor Berggren with strikes to kick off what became a four-fight run of finishes capped off by Yakhyaev\u2019s third UFC victory. <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\"){kind=icon}
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow<\/a>