Every so often, a bout over-delivers on its pre-fight expectations.

One such fight was the December 2017 brawl between Eddie Alvarez and Justin Gaethje. The two battle-hardened veterans were at the time jockeying for position to challenge for Conor McGregor’s lightweight title that he had won from Alvarez just over a year previously, and with such high stakes neither man was willing cede ground to the other in what was a back-and-forth 14-minute war that saw both men wearing visible battle scars.

In the end, it was a knee from Alvarez that proved the difference, collapsing Gaethje in the centre of the cage in what was his first-ever career loss — and also (obviously) the first time fight fans would see him knocked out — something which would follow once more in his next fight with Dustin Poirier and again in 2024 in his instant classic with Max Holloway.

You can check out the stunning Alvarez-Gaethje brawl in full in the video below.

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