UFC Moscow video: Danny Roberts lays out Zelim Imadaev with one punch

UFC welterweight Danny Roberts swore the world hadn’t seen the best of him. Critics pounced when he claimed he’d “destroy” his previous opponent – who’d knocked him out – nine out of 10 times.

Headed into UFC Moscow, Roberts was a +200 underdog against Zelim Imadaev. The Russian had stopped his first eight opponents and enjoyed a home field advantage. UFC President Dana White hyped the fight on Twitter.

Things weren’t going terribly for Roberts early on against Imadaev, but they weren’t exactly going great. A slip on a kick nearly cost Roberts a flying knee to the head. The U.K. native repeatedly found himself pushed backward against his aggressive opponent.

But as Roberts later explained, he was just waiting for the right moment. And late in the second, it came when Imadaev overextended himself on a punch. Roberts slipped and countered with a left hook – his preferred power punch – and laid out Imadaev. Before he could follow up, the referee pounced on the Russian to avoid further punishment.

Check out the finish.

At 4:54 of the second round, Roberts got back in the win column and snapped a two-fight skid.

“I was just waiting to explode,” he said afterward. “I know I can hit harder than the guy.”

After a strong start against unheralded opposition on the regional scene, Imadaev remains winless in the octagon with back-to-back losses.