Written by Oban Elliott and Bassil Hafez | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Oban Elliott may have already locked up a Performance of the Night bonus.
In a preliminary welterweight bout at UFC 309 on Saturday, Elliott scored a dramatic third-round knockout of Bassil Hafez to guarantee that the judges’ scorecards wouldn’t be needed.
Watch the explosive finish below.
A DEVASTATING RIGHT HAND FROM OBAN ELLIOTT #UFC309 pic.twitter.com/lEITNsBet7
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) November 17, 2024
Through two rounds, Elliott appeared to be in control, though he was seemingly unable to land a truly damaging shot on Hafez. Elliott was a step ahead of Hafez in the striking department and that paid off in a big way when he caught Hafez with a right hand early in the final round.
Hafez crashed to the mat, but referee Marc Goddard did not step in to wave off the fight yet. Elliott landed a few more devastating punches before the bout was called at the 0:40 mark of Round 3.
With the win Elliott (11-2) improves to 3-0 in the UFC, with all of those wins coming in 2024. Overall, “The Welsh Gangster” has won eight straight fights.