Halil Amir stuns with vicious TKO of Timofey Nastyukhin in ONE Championship debut

Kicking off the ONE on Prime Video 2 main card was a lightweight bout between No.3-ranked contender Timofey Nastyukhin and undefeated Turkish debutant Halil Amir.

After dropping back-to-back fights, Nastyukhin was looking to get back into the win column and one step closer to a potential lightweight title opportunity. For Amir, it was about keeping his ‘O’ and shaking up the lightweight division.

Coming out for the opening round, Timofey Nastyukhin immediately put the pressure on, punching his way into the clinch against the fence. Amir was able to reverse and break away quickly. Nastyukhin continued the pressure, throwing wild shots, but leaving himself open for a stiff leg kick from Amir.

Nastyukhin went onto land a solid right against the fence, forcing Amir to circle out. Amir then used his solid footwork and calf kicks to keep distance and stay out of danger for the most part but was unable to muster much offense.

Coming out for the second, Amir looked to ramp up his offense with a solid head kick right out of the gate. Early in the second, Nastyukhin moved in, but Amir greeted him with a vicious right hand that immediately rocked Nastyukhin.

Amir then swarmed in, pushing Nastyukhin to the fence. The Russian tried to shoot for a takedown, but Amir unloaded on him, delivering multiple unanswered shots before referee Herb Dean stepped in and called for a stoppage 58-seconds into the second round.

Check out the finishing sequence below:

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Halil Amir pockets $50,000 for his TKO victory against Timofey Nastyukhin in ONE Championship debut

Following his spectacular second-round knockout of Timofey Nastyukhin to kick things off on the ONE on Prime Video 2 main card, Halil Amir spoke with ONE color commentator Mitch Chilson. During the conversation, Amir learned that he had earned himself a $50,000 bonus for his memorable ONE Championship debut.

With that win, the ONE lightweight rankings will most certainly see a significant shakeup as Nastyukhin was the No. 3-ranked contender before dropping his third straight to the Turkish newcomer.

With that victory, Halil Amir moves to 8-0 in his mixed martial arts career and maintains his astonishing 100% finish rate. As for what’s next is anyone’s guess, but Amir will likely see a number next to his name in the coming days, and it appears that ONE lightweight world champion Christian Lee has a new challenger in sight.

Check out a compilation of Halil Amir's performance inside the circle below: