UFC Vegas 69: Close-up image of fighter's horrific injury after ceding fight to debutant via doctor's stoppage

UFC Vegas 69 is currently underway at the Apex facility in Las Vegas. Jessica Andrade and Erin Blanchfield will square off in a women's flyweight bout to highlight the event. The event also marked the UFC debut of Nazim Sadykhov, a product of Dana White's Contender Series.

Evan Elder's horrific cut over his right eye caused the referee to stop the bout in the third round, resulting in a TKO victory for Sadykhov. The images of the gash are as horrific as they come.

The path to victory for Nazim Sadykhov at UFC Vegas 69 wasn't an easy one. In the opening round, Elder did a terrific job of fighting from outside Sadykhov's range and moving in and out of range to pepper his opponent with shots. Elder's counter striking was on point as he carried the early momentum into the second round.

While Sadykhov had his moments in the fight, Evan Elder seemed like the aggressor and he mixed things well, launching several takedown attempts successfully in the second round. However, the decisive moment of the fight came in the third round when Elder ate a big knee while attempting a takedown.

The referee quickly jumped in to pause the action for the ringside doctor to examine the wound. The doctor deemed it fit to stop the fight to the delight of Nazim Sadykhov, who extended his undefeated record to eight fights.

UFC president Dana White shared several images of the cut while Elder was getting stitched backstage. Check out the images here (Viewer discretion advised).

Interestingly, Evan Elder was well on his way to winning the bout at UFC Vegas 69, according to the judges scorecard that was unanimoulsy scored in his favor.

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Nazim Sadykhov reacts to his victory over Evan Elder at UFC Vegas 69

In August 2022, Nazim Sadykhov received a UFC contract for his performance in Dana White's Contender Series. He was able to outlast Ahmad Hassanzada and score a knockout in the third round.

Despite looking great, Sadykhov was on the verge of losing a decision before the stoppage led to a victory at UFC Vegas 69. Each of the three judges gave Elder the edge in the first two rounds.

Reacting to his performance in the post-fight octagon interview, Sadykhov stated:

"I'm going to be honest. I did not find my timing there as much as I would have liked to. I felt good coming in here, but the UFC debut jitters are for real. I knew it was going to be [tough] regardless... he's [Evan Elder] a tough cookie."

Catch Sadykhov's comments in the post-fight octagon interview at UFC Vegas 69: