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UFC London fighter almost finished Ilia Topuria before suffering devastating knockout

Originally posted on MMA on SI | By Chris De Santiago | Last updated Mar 17, 2025 8:00 AM ET

A 25-year-old Ilia Topuria nearly lost his undefeated record at UFC London three years ago.

It was Topuria's debut in the UFC lightweight division, an extremely tough one against 6'1" British fighterJai Herbert. Herbert was 6 inches taller and had an 8-inch reach advantage on the 5'7" Topuria.

Jai Herbert Almost Knocked Out Ilia Topuria In Opening Minute

Topuria was hurt early on as Herbert drew first blood 48 seconds in, dropping the Spaniard with a flush headkick.

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Herbert went for the finish, but perhaps too quickly, as Topuria grabbed ahold of his legs and shot for a takedown up against the cage. It took Topuria a while, but he managed to get the takedown a minute later even after Herbert grabbed the cage.

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Topuria controlled Herbert on the ground until Herbert eventually got up, knocking the mouthpiece out of Topuria's mouth with a knee. Topuria survived without it for the last 20 seconds, seeing the end of Round 1.

Topuria Pulled Off Comeback KO In Round 2

Round 2 would be a different story entirely for Topuria, as he closed distance effectively against Herbert, who had the significant reach advantage.

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Similar to how he stalked Alexander Volkanovkski for a title-winning knockout at UFC 298, Topuria backed Herbert towards the cage before he threw a left hand to the body and a right hand to the head to knock out Herbert.

A walk-off KO for Topuria and Herbert out on his side.

"He flipped the script tonight," UFC commentator John Gooden said on the broadcast.

"The odds don't change when this man is in the Octagon," Paul Felder said of Topuria's KO.

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Jai Herbert, who has 9 KO's on his record, almost had 10 with Ilia Topuria, who's still yet to be defeated.

The "Black Country Banger" is coming off a win over Rolando Bedoya and is scheduled to fight at this year's UFC London this Saturday against Chris Padilla. He's 3-4-1 in the UFC overall and is a former Cage Warriors champion, 5-0 in the promotion.