UFC Fight Night came to Capital One Arena on Saturday and several Capitals players were in attendance including Tom Wilson, Jakub Vrana, Michal Kempny, Dmitry Orlov, and Ilya Samsonov.
Vrana and Kempny were especially focused on the Makhmud Muradov-Trevor Smith fight early in the night. Muradov, who was born in Tajikistan, is Czech. Muradov had one of the most impressive finishes of the night, knocking out Smith in the third round to improve his record to 24-6
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WALK. OFF. 😱
Straight power from @MakhmudMuradov!
Tune in on ESPN+ #UFCDC pic.twitter.com/407ri8L9fT
— UFC (@ufc) December 7, 2019
After the fight, Kempny and Vrana presented Muradov with a customized Capitals jersey which both Stanley Cup champions signed.
Muradov is famous for being the first UFC fighter Floyd Mayweather signed to be part of his TMT company. He got a performance of the night bonus for his impressive KO.
Wilson, meanwhile, seemed more intrigued that face-punching could occur in this event and no one had to sit in an actual penalty box.
No penalty box for these guys #UFCDC #FightNight pic.twitter.com/GLSzm0qgBg
— Tom Wilson (@tom_wilso) December 8, 2019
Other impressive performances on the night included Aspen Ladd, who after getting a tongue-lashing from her coach, won her fight in the third round over Yana Kunitskaya by landing a huge punch two seconds into the final frame.
Coach is NOT holding back 🤬
➡️ Listen into the corner (*NSFW*) #UFCDC pic.twitter.com/snhI9yyCJi
— UFC (@ufc) December 8, 2019
JOB DONE 👊@AspenLaddMMA turns it ON in the third!
➡️ Watch the card on @ESPN! #UFCDC pic.twitter.com/Q8y4jKOApV
— UFC (@ufc) December 8, 2019
In the main event, Jairzinho Rozenstruik defeated Alistair Overeem with a knockout with four seconds left in the fight. Overeem had his lip split in half but smiled afterward.
A month before the UFC Fight Night, Kempny presented jerseys to Overeem and Walt Harris, the fighter who was previously supposed to be in the main event in DC. Harris had to withdraw after his step-daughter, 19-year-old Aniah Blanchard, was murdered.
Harris also posted photos with Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Tom Wilson.
Saturday was supposed to be the fighter’s first main event after authoring a four-fight unbeaten streak with three stoppages.
