Mateusz Rebecki hit Myktybek Orolbai with everything he had. And it nearly wasn’t enough.
Saturday’s UFC 308 preliminary card gave fans one of the best and bloodiest fights of the year as Rebecki and Orolbai threw down for three rounds, with Orolbai experiencing grisly swelling around his right eye starting in the second round.
Check out Orolbai’s absurd injury below.
After 15 minutes of Rebecki and Orolbai clobbering each other with haymakers on the feet, it was Rebecki who had his hand raised via split decision, with two judges scoring the fight for him 29-28, and the third scoring it 29-28 for Orolbai.
A decisive shot from Rebeck in Round 3 may have been the moment that swung the bout in his favor.
Either man winning wouldn’t have been surprising. The only shock will be if another fight manages to snag the Fight of the Night award from them.
With the win, Rebecki (20-2) rebounds from a loss to veteran Diego Ferreira, which was the Polish standout’s first setback since 2015. He has now won 17 of his past 18 fights.
Orolbai (13-2-1) loses for the first time in his UFC career after defeating Elves Brener and Uros Medic in previous two octagon outings.
