The UFC put on a Halloween card, and somebody clearly took the theme too literally. Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani handed Farman Hasanov the first loss of his pro career at UFC Vegas 123, chopping up Hasanov’s face until the cageside doctor stopped it midway through Round 3 with Hasanov’s eyebrow practically detached from the rest of him.
SI’s FanNation reported that the doctor barely needed a second look before waving it off. The cut sat above the eye, a spot that falls into the “Consider stopping the bout” category on the laceration zone charts cageside physicians use. Once the clips started circulating on X (UFC on TNT Sports posted a close-up under a NOT FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED warning, and Championship Rounds had the stoppage itself), it was pretty obvious nobody in a white coat was letting that go another minute.
Hasanov didn’t go quietly. He kept swinging right up until the end and protested the call afterward. That’s admirable and also completely hopeless, because no doctor alive is watching a guy’s eyebrow flap around and deciding to give him 30 more seconds. Bloody Elbow summed it up on X: the undefeated fighter lost his 0 on a doctor’s stoppage over a horrific cut. Hasanov came in 5-0 and leaves 5-1.
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Berggren gets the same treatment on the prelims
Hasanov wasn’t even the first fighter that night to get sliced open. Earlier on the prelims, Theodor Berggren ate an elbow off the bottom that came close to splitting him from lip to nose, and that one also ended with a doctor’s stoppage. The card, headlined by Renato Moicano vs. Tom Nolan and streaming on Paramount+, produced some of the bloodiest Octagon scenes in a long while, which is either perfect seasonal programming or a nightmare for whoever mops the canvas.
Lebosnoyani wants a gatekeeper
For Lebosnoyani, this was his first stoppage inside the UFC, and he wasted zero time cashing it in. He took the mic and asked for respect, pointing to his wins over Phil Rowe, a dangerous finisher, and Seok Hyeon Ko, a strong grappler. Then he went after Jake Matthews.
Matthews is 23-8 with 24 UFC fights behind him. He has been the welterweight division’s resident gatekeeper for years, the guy you have to get past to prove you belong. He also already has a fight booked, against Tahir Abdullayev at UFC Doha this November, so Lebosnoyani is going to have to wait his turn.
My take: I love the callout. Lebosnoyani didn’t ask for a ranked name he has no business fighting, and he didn’t ask for a soft touch. He asked for the guy who has been checking ID at the door for a decade, which is exactly the smart, slightly greedy ask a fighter should make after a finish like this. As for Hasanov, a cut stoppage is the most forgivable way to lose an undefeated record, and he was still throwing when they pulled him. Patch him up and he’s fine. Lebosnoyani’s fate now depends on Matthews getting through Abdullayev in Doha, and if he does, the UFC has its next booking ready.
