Seb Szalay stunned by Keiichiro Nakamura knee knockout after controlling fight at UFC 325 Sydney

Seb Szalay was minutes away from the kind of UFC 325 performance that changes a career trajectory. Composed, confident and steadily pulling ahead, Szalay looked like he was cruising to a breakthrough win in Sydney before one strike flipped the entire story.

From the opening exchanges, Szalay set the tone. He controlled the range, picked his moments, and forced Keiichiro Nakamura to fight at his pace. The cleaner sequences belonged to Szalay as he found his rhythm and began to separate himself on the scorecards. It was the type of fight where the pressure eases each round because the read is clear and the gap feels safe.

Then the fight reminded everyone why nothing is guaranteed in MMA.

As Szalay stepped into another exchange, Nakamura timed it perfectly and drove a knee up the middle. The impact was immediate. Szalay dropped and the contest was waved off, ending a fight he had largely been winning with a sudden knockout that silenced the momentum in seconds.

It was a brutal turn for Szalay, not because he was outclassed, but because he was in control. In the space of one moment, a performance that was trending toward a statement win became a highlight-reel finish for Nakamura.

That is the harsh reality at this level. You can be winning every minute, but you only need to be wrong once.

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