Bareknuckle Boxer Secures Savage KO in Russia to Extend Undefeated MMA Record

"The Predator" has secured four MMA victories via first-round knockout.

(RCC MMA)

A Fourth of July weekend fairly light on major MMA action saw a Russian bareknuckle boxer add to his undefeated MMA record with a vicious knockout.

Following last Saturday’s UFC Baku event that closed out with Rafael Fiziev’s highlight-reel finish of Manuel Torres, the UFC is taking a rare break this week before returning full-force next week for UFC 329 and the return of former two-division titleholder Conor McGregor.

South Africa’s EFC did hold an event midweek before France’s Ares FC and Mexico's Budo Sento Championship took the MMA spotlight on Friday, and Saturday saw Russia’s RCC MMA 25 go down in the morning for United States viewers ahead of a Cage Warriors 209 card in Newcastle later on in the day.

Khaibula Musalov Brutalizes Opponent With Savage KO

Taking place at UGMK Arena in Yekaterinburg, Russia, RCC 25 offered a mix of MMA and kickboxing bouts and features several MMA title fights during the latter part of the card.

One of the non-title MMA bouts from earlier in the event was a middleweight contest between Khaibula Musalov and Brazil’s Marco Antonio, who was making his promotional debut for RCC MMA and returning to MMA for the first time since 2024.

Musalov began his professional fighting career in 2019 and secured back-to-back wins in boxing with RCC before moving on to bareknuckle boxing, where he went on a 6-0 run with Hardcore FC that saw him claim the promotion’s welterweight belt in 2022.

“The Predator” made his MMA debut in 2023 and stopped his first three opponents in the first round before his 2025 meeting with Diego Daniel ended in a No Contest. Following another pair of finishes in bareknuckle boxing, Musalov returned to MMA at RCC 25 and scored an absolutely brutal knockout against Antonio (video courtesy of the one and only @Grabaka Hitman).

PFFFFFFFFF. Khaibula Musalov just murdered a man. The former bare knuckle boxer improves to 4-0 in MMA with a sickening first round KO over Marco Antonio. #RCC25 pic.twitter.com/6yzhPYutsO

— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) July 4, 2026

As noted by Caposa, Musalov is now 4-0 in professional MMA (minus his No Contest with Daniel) and has secured all four of those wins via first-round knockout, setting a new benchmark for his fastest MMA finish by stopping Antonio in just under a minute.

Antonio has now lost back-to-back MMA bouts after he was previously submitted by Charles Oliveira (not to be confused with the current UFC “BMF” champion) in 2024. The Brazilian rebounded from that result by winning three kickboxing bouts in one night last October but dropped back-to-back fights in kickboxing immediately before meeting Musalov.

UFC Returns Next Saturday With Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway 2

It’s rare these days to have a Saturday featuring no UFC event, as the promotion opted to hold its “UFC Freedom 250” card at The White House on June 14 due to reported scheduling issues for the Fourth of July.

Justin Gaethje (blue gloves) fights Ilia Topuria (red gloves) during the UFC Freedom 250 at the White House South Lawn. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The world’s leading MMA promotion will presumably pull out all of the stops next week for its annual International Fight Week. The festivities are highlighted by a stacked UFC 329 card that’s headlined by McGregor’s return fight against Max Holloway, who previously dropped a decision to the Irishman in 2013 when they were both still competing at featherweight.

Max Holloway (blue gloves) reacts after defeating Justin Gaethje (not pictured) during UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

The rematch between the two UFC stars will be contested at 170 lbs., and fans are eager to see what “The Notorious” looks like in the cage after a broken ankle against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 left him on a two-fight skid and kicked off his current layoff of five years.