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'Can see his skull': UFC world in shock over 'vicious' KO

andrew reid
·3-min read
Pictured here, Jeremy Stephens is left with blood pouring from his face after a second round TKO against Calvin Kattar.
Calvin Kattar stopped Jeremy Stephens in the second round with a series of brutal elbows. Pic: Main Event

Calvin Kattar gave sports-starved fans something they won't forget any time soon after delivering one of the most brutal TKO victories at UFC 249.

In the first major mixed martial arts event televised since the COVID-19 shutdown of sport around the world, Kattar left an indelible impression on the UFC.

'NEARLY MURDER': Brutal 20-second KO shocks viewers

His flurry of vicious elbows in the second round of the fight against featherweight rival Jeremy Stephens, left an indelible mark on his opponent's face.

Stephens came in over weight for the fight but any advantage that might have had was soon eroded, despite the American controlling much of the opening round.

The 33-year-old worked Kattar's legs in the first round and continued to target the area with kicks in the second, before things turned around in dramatic fashion.

Stephens went for a big right to Kattar's face but was met with the first of a series of devastating elbows that connected flush on his nose.

The brutal force of the shot sent Stephens crashing down to the canvas as Kattar pounced on his stricken opponent.

The 32-year-old followed up his first strike with a series of follow-up elbows that left blood gushing out of Stephens' head.

The referee quickly stepped in to stop the fight at 2:11 in the second round, leaving viewers marvelling at the ferocity of Kattar's win.

Kattar hoping to climb the featherweight ranks

“I’m a little upset he turned up five pounds overweight, but it was a top fight,” said Kattar.

“Hopefully, I climb up to that top five... I’d like a shot at an Ultimate Fighter or someone big.

“I feel like I let one go with Zabit in Russia, I just feel like I ran out of time and I wasn’t going to let that happen here.

“My coach told me to let it go and I felt like did that tonight,” he added.

“It was adding up out there, it takes me a couple of hits to get going out there, I wish that wasn’t the case, but it is. Once I started finding my range, I capitalised on a big shot.

“I looked down, he was facing up, and I finished the job.”