The action-packed preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 252 in Seattle hosted one of the nastiest knockouts so far in 2025.
In a bantamweight prelim on Saturday night at Climate Pledge Arena, Ricky Simone brutally slept Javid Basharat in the opening round.
During an exchange, Simon landed an overhand right that put Basharat’s lights out as he collapsed onto the canvas.
However, Simon put the fight to bed, landing a powerful right hammer fist for good measure before referee Mike Beltran stepped in and stopped the fight.
Upon the stoppage, Basaharat lay motionless on the mat, with his eyes glaring wide toward the ceiling.
The knockout sent fans into a frenzy on social media as the event enjoyed a 100% finish rate through the prelims.
Ricky Simon scored a terrifying first-round knockout over Javid Basharat at UFC Seattle
‘Out with the Eye’s open, that’s a bad KO, he really needs to be observed,’ one fan wrote.
‘Dude was on another planet,’ a second chimed in.
‘Yeah see yah for about 3hrs,’ joked a third. ‘His brain just got scrambled.’
A fourth user noted ‘Nice work from the ref,’ about Beltran’s timely stoppage.
Simon snapped a three-fight skid with what was a must-win performance.
On the other hand, Basharat fell into his second straight loss and was knocked out for the first time in his career.
The fight moved Simon to a 21-6 record while Basharat dropped to 14-2. Simon is likely to win a $50k knockout bonus as fans already labelled his finish as a Knockout of the Year candidate.
