Illegal blows mark Michailidis’ first UFC fight

Andreas Michailidis, the first Greece-based fighter to ever participate in the UFC octagon, was on the receiving end of a controversial TKO loss to Lithuanian Modestas Bukauskas.

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After a dominant performance during the first five minutes, the Greek fighter, fighting out of EFL Academy, attempted to secure the first  round in the judges’ scorecard by going for a takedown in the dying ten seconds. That’s when Bukauskas grabbed the opportunity to score some lateral elbows on Michailidis. However, the majority of the strikes landed at the back of the Greek fighter’s head, a statement also backed by Dana White, the UFC president and commentator and former UFC Middleweight champion Michael Bisping.

The round bell sounded, but when referee Dan Movaheti ordered Michailidis back to his corner, the fighter was slow to respond. Then, as Michailidis tried to right himself, he fell backward onto the apron as the UFC crew opened the cage door, with the referee promptly ending the fight and giving Bukauskas the TKO stoppage at the five-minute mark of the first frame. Below are the statistics from the first round before the controversial stoppage:

Originally, Bukauskas was scheduled to face Vinicius Moreira, but a positive Covid-19 test forced the change on July 5th. Michailidis subsequently stepped into the vacancy, moving up from middleweight to take the fight. The 32-year-old from Athens is now 12-4 in his career, and will definitely be focused on bouncing back to winning ways at Middleweight level - his normal weight class - as his UFC contract is still on for three more fights.

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