Alexandre Pantoja got rocked by journeyman Matt Schnell before landing a devastating knockout at UFC Busan.
What happened?
Pantoja faced Schnell in South Korea, and the pair traded bombs in one of the year's best rounds.
Schnell put Pantoja on wobbly legs with a left hook, but the Brazilian recovered and dropped Schnell with a right hand.
Why it matters for Alexandre Pantoja
The knockout marked Pantoja's most recent KO finish, and he has not recorded a knockout since sleeping Matt Schnell in 2019.
Pantoja has been focusing on his submission skills, with a sixth rear-naked choke against Brandon Royval and a gruesome standing neck crank against Alex Perez.
What comes next?
Pantoja will face Kara-France at UFC 317, and perhaps he will be eyeing his first KO since 2019.
The Brazilian's reign has lacked a knockout finish, but his highlight reel isn’t absent of brutal knockouts.
Pantoja dethroned Brandon Moreno at UFC 290 and reeled off decisions over Brandon Royval and Steve Erceg before submitting Kai Asakura.
With Kara-France's penchant for striking firefights, the stage is set for an exciting matchup at UFC 317.
Pantoja's UFC career as a whole has been marked by memorable finishes, including the knockout of Matt Schnell at UFC Busan.
The finish in the final minute of the opening frame went down as one of the year's most brutal, with Schnell faceplanting the canvas and being put out again with a devastating ground strike.