Mansur Abdul-Malik looked like he was on the verge of an upset loss in the opening round at UFC Fight Night 252, but he showed major perseverance to defeat Nick Klein.
Klein (6-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) nearly pulled off a shocker in the opening round of the middleweight bout at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle when he landed a vicious spinning back elbow that rocked Abdul-Malik (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) and had the betting favorite of more than 12-1 on skates.
Abdul-Malik survived the round and in the second, confidently took over by pushed Klein to the mat then battered him with punches until the referee stepped in at the 3:24 mark of Round 2.
Check out the replay below (via X):
This spinning elbow from Nick Klein
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— UFC (@ufc) February 23, 2025
After the win, Abdul-Malik expressed disappointment with getting caught in the first round but promised to return better in his next performance.
“That was not a good performance by me – period, point blank,” Abdul-Malik said in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “But I’m grateful. On to the next.”
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 252 results include:
- Mansur Abdul-Malik def. Nick Klein via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:24
- Ricky Simon def. Javid Basharat via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 3:58
- Austin Vanderford def. Nikolay Veretennikov via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:13
- Nursulton Ruziboev def. Eric McConico via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 0:33
- Modestas Bukauskas def. Rafael Cerqueira via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 2:12
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 252.
