"I thought I was dying": Ukrainian UFC fighter lost in the very first round.

In Las Vegas at the UFC Vegas 101 mixed martial arts tournament, Ukrainian fighter Ihor Poterya was defeated by knockout in the first round.

His opponent, Marco Tulio, managed to land a hit to the Ukrainian's face in the first round and began unleashing a barrage of strikes while already on the canvas of the octagon.

The referee did not stop the match for some time, giving Poterya a chance to turn the situation around, but ultimately awarded the victory to Tulio.

"I will take a break for now, I don’t know how long, but definitely for a year. Over the past year, I have had 4 terrible weight cuts, losing a total of 70 kg across those 4 cuts, and my body is telling me: 'Ihor, please stop.'

This time I thought I was dying and couldn’t even cut the weight completely. There’s no focus or that hunter's desire because I’ve just exhausted myself both physically and psychologically," Poterya wrote after the fight.

Background. It’s worth noting that Poterya failed to make weight for his division before the fight, which forced him to give 25% of his purse to his opponent.