Nazim Sadykhov delivered the first finish at UFC Baku after engaging in a wild war with Nikolas Motta but ultimately ending the fight with a brutal knockout.
With a home crowd behind him, the native of Azerbaijan wasn’t going down without a fight but Motta did his best to play spoiler after he hurt Sadykhov in the opening round and then unloaded a barrage of punches looking for the stoppage. Sadykhov survived and then came back guns blazing in the second round when he split Motta open with a nasty elbow and then eventually pushed the Brazilian against the cage before unloading a flurry of punches in succession.
A right hook eventually slipped through and blasted Motta before he crumbled to the canvas with the fight coming to an end at 4:17 in the second round.
Check out the knockout video below:
Nazim Sadykhov closes the show in one of the year’s best fights at #UFCBaku. pic.twitter.com/UE1iDZDzQm
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) June 21, 2025
“Nikolas Motta, he’s very strong, he’s very powerful,” Sadykhov said afterward. “Probably landed a good 20 or 30 punches before I got the wind back in me. But you’re going to have to kill me if you want to put me away in Baku, Azerbaijan. This is my country. I give my heart and my soul for Azerbaijan.”
It was an insane fight from start to finish with Motta showing no fear stepping into the pocket and trading with Sadykhov from the first exchange. That led to a near finish for Motta but he just couldn’t do enough damage to put Sadykhov away.
In return, Sadykhov eventually just overwhelmed Motta with better accuracy and devastating power before getting the highlight reel knockout in the second round.
Still undefeated in the octagon, Sadykhov moves to 11-1-1 overall in his career but it’s likely he’ll never forget his win on Saturday while performing in front of the crowd in Azerbaijan.
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