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Modestas Bukauskas defeated Andreas Michailidis via first round technical knockout (TKO), though it did have a bit of controversy attached. Both men came out swinging for the fences in search of an early stoppage. Toward the end of the round, Michailidis had Bukauskas pressed up against the fence in search of a takedown. It proved to be his downfall.
With about 10 seconds remaining in the round, Bukauskas unleashed a flurry of elbows to the side of his opponents head, forcing him to collapse on his knees as the buzzer rang. Looking to posture back against the cage to compose himself, Michailidis fell backward as unbeknownst to him, the Octagon door had just been opened seconds prior, leaving him with nothing to rest against. The referee on duty took at as he was too hurt to continue, and that’s all he needed to see to put an end to the bout.
The other referee watching the action cageside, Marc Goddard, offered the official on duty to look at the replay to see if he wanted to reverse his call, but he ultimately decided to stick with his guns, giving Bukauskas a first-round technical knockout victory in his debut. In the referee’s defense, Michailidis still looked a bit out of it after several minutes, so perhaps calling the fight when he did was the right move.
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