Fight fans witnessed one of the best knockout finishes of the year on Saturday night (Aug. 23, 2025) at AKO 10 in Abuja, Nigeria, as a main event bout ended in a flying knee knockout just seconds into the first round.
The fight in question was a lightweight matchup between Jean Dos Santos and Jibrin Inuwa Baba, who were meeting for the inaugural AKO lightweight championship. Both fighters have had success under the AKO banner — which is an African-based promotion ran by former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru
Usman — but it was Dos Santos who came into Saturday’s contest with a higher finish rate and all-around more dangerous skill set.
Dos Santos showed that off just seconds into the fight. After the two fighters nearly locked horns during the pre-fight faceoff, Dos Santos came firing out of the gate and immediately launched a flying knee that caught Baba flush and knocked him to the canvas. It kind of resembled Jorge Masvidal’s epic flying knee knockout finish over Ben Askren back at UFC 239, but it lasted just a little longer. Dos Santos clobbered Baba with relentless ground-and-pound along the fence before the referee realized what had happened and stopped the fight. The entire sequence lasted about 7-8 seconds.
Baba, who had never been knocked out before coming into AKO 10’s main event, was down for quite some time. It was a little scary, but he ultimately regained consciousness and was able to walk off under his own power.
Check out the incredible finish below and let us know where this ranks among 2025’s best!
