UFC Fight Night Dublin Result: Nikita Krylov Hands Cody Donovan 3rd Straight Loss in Barnburner

UFC Fight Night Dublin Result: Nikita Krylov Hands Cody Donovan 3rd Straight Loss in Barnburner 

by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

Nikita Krylov stopped an exhausted Cody Donovan with just 3 seconds remaining in the opening round at UFC Fight Night Dublin to earn his first win in the UFC's 205lb division. The bout was part of the preliminary card in Dublin.

The bout opened with Donovan looking to land with big left hooks but Krylov was able to push the action towards the cage catching the American with a solid headkick which looked like it hurt Donovan. Donovan was able to reverse position again the cage, and take the fight to ground where the BJJ black belt attempted a armbar which Kylov was able to escape from, taking the fight back to a standing position where he caught Donovan with several solid knees.

The bout turned into a brawl with Donovan returning with hard uppercuts from the clinch, but a front kick from Krylov to the cup of Donovan halted the action to allow Donovan to recovery. When the bout restarted, The Ukrainian came out firing going back upstairs catching Donovan with a head kick which put Donovan on wobbly legs. Still in the bout though, Donovan throw a counter left which caught Krylov, dropping the fighter, where he took the back fighting for a choke. Kylov was able to defend well, and easily reverse position on a visibly tired Donovan. On top Kylov started to rain down hammerfists leaving referee Mac Goddard no choice but to step in at 4.57 of the opening round.

Krylov who now moves to 2-1 in his UFC career, and 17-4 over said following the bout:

 “I’m really happy for the win but I will see from the videos how the fight went. I’m starting to feel more and more comfortable in the Octogan each time. The first time was rough but now it feels a lot better.”

Donovan, who has now lost 3 straight fights in the UFC and will likely loss his job following the loss to Krylov said:

“He hit me with a good head kick and it was hard to recover after that. My legs were pretty wobbly, it felt like I was ice skating. My hat off to him he is a great fighter and he fought a great fight. I’m going to go home and recover. This is the third loss in a row for me so I am going to go home and think and analyse things.”