Nassourdine Imavov scored the biggest win of his career after demolishing Israel Adesanya in the second round in the UFC Saudi Arabia main event.

The shocking result came after Imavov blasted Adesanya with a huge right hand that sent the former middleweight champion down to the canvas. Imavov followed it up with a devastating uppercut that saw Adesanya go face down before absorbing a few more punches with the referee rushing in to prevent him from suffering further damage.

While Adesanya briefly seemed to complain about the stoppage, it only took him a moment to realize that Imavov definitely got the job done. The end came at just 30 seconds into the second round.

“I feel so good,” Imavov said after the win. “I said it all week long, I was in perfect shape. I proved I was the better striker. Now the real bonus for me is going to be fighting for the belt. I promised you a special surprise tonight. That was the surprise.”

Acting like a sniper from the outside when the fight started, Adesanya was firing off a nasty lead jab and some blistering kicks while Imavov was constantly looking to close the distance. While Adesanya was controlling the pace in the early going, Imavov finally got some respect with a well-timed combination that cracked “The Last Stylebender” and sent his head snapping backwards.

For the most part the opening round looked like vintage Adesanya as he kept Imavov away from him and set up his combinations to perfection.

But Imavov turned the tables in dramatic fashion at the start of the second round after he decided to charge forward and come after Adesanya with his best strikes. That’s when he unleashed the huge right hand that twisted Adesanya’s head around and sent him to the ground.

The uppercut that followed nearly put Adesanya out but Imavov just kept delivering the punishment until referee Marc Goddard had no choice but to stop the contest.

This was the moment for Imavov to show he belonged among the elite fighters in the middleweight division and now he can add Adesanya to his win column after a stunning performance on Saturday.

With Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland about to battle for the 185-pound title at UFC 312, Imavov did everything possible to stake his claim to become the No. 1 contender with his emphatic win over Adesanya.

“I think there is no doubt I’m worth the belt,” Imavov said. “Four victories in one year … the results speak for itself.”

As for Adesanya, he was already in uncharted territory off two straight losses but now he’s dropped three in a row and it remains to be seen where he goes from here. At 35, Adesanya isn’t the youngest fighter in the division anymore but only he knows for certain what the future holds after his knockout loss on Saturday.