Hayder Hassan starches Joe Stevenson with uppercut to make TUF 25 quarterfinals

Cody Garbrandt argued that Joe Stevenson probably shouldn’t be in the TUF wild card fight, after getting beat by Justin Edwards just six days earlier. Hayder Hassan made Garbrandt look prophetic.

Hassan knocked out Stevenson in just 18 seconds to earn a berth into the quarterfinals of The Ultimate Fighter 25 tournament in the episode that aired Wednesday night on FS1. Garbrandt shouted “I told you!” at his opposing coach T.J. Dillashaw, who made the Stevenson wild-card selection, afterward.

Hassan, an American Top Team product, had lost to Dhiego Lima by decision two episodes earlier, but snagged the wild card spot with Stevenson. Hassan will face Jesse Taylor in the TUF 25 quarterfinals in a later episode.

Stevenson, 34, was retired for three years after a solid run in the UFC as a perennial lightweight contender. He returned in 2015 and went 2-1 before signing up for this season of The Ultimate Fighter, which features past castmates on the show. “Joe Daddy,” who fought BJ Penn for the 155-pound UFC belt in 2008, won TUF 2 in 2005.

The other TUF 25 quarterfinal matchups are as follows: Tom Gallicchio vs. Justin Edwards, Gilbert Smith vs. Dhiego Lima and James Krause vs. Ramsey Nijem.

TUF 25 was filmed earlier this year. The season’s champion will be crowned at the TUF 25 Finale on July 7 in Las Vegas.