UFC fighters and Joe Rogan impressed by Alex Ovechkin’s knockout of Andrei Svechnikov: ‘That guy can punch’

UFC 304 was recently held at the Co-op Live in Manchester, England. At the event, Tom Aspinall defended his interim heavyweight belt with his 60-second knockout of Curtis Blaydes and Belal Muhammad won a decision over Leon Edwards to become the new UFC welterweight champion.

Before the mixed martial artists went to war though, Sportsnet had the headliners from the United Kingdom card react to some of the best KOs in recent NHL history, including Kevin Bieksa’s superb superman punch of Radko Gudas and Evander Kane’s decisive win over Matt Cooke.

The fighters were seemingly most impressed by Alex Ovechkin’s vicious three-punch knockout of Andrei Svechnikov from the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“That’s fantastic stuff,” Aspinall said.

Here’s the full transcript of the fighters reacting to Ovi’s bout:

Belal Muhammad: They’re just holding and throwing.

Tom Aspinall: Oh they’re just going at it. Oh! He knocked him out! Again!

Paddy Pimblett: Crazy them. Though like punching each other with helmets on, it’s going to hurt your hand.

Belal Muhammad: Nonchalant about it. Oh, that was Ovechkin!!

Paddy Pimblett: When I think of this, I just think of “Goon.”

Belal Muhammad: Oh, this guy’s rocked.

Molly McCann: He can’t even get on his feet here.

Tom Aspinall: Standard procedure. I’ll just have a sit down, let this fella come around a little bit.

Belal Muhammad: You should’ve never stepped up.

Leon Edwards: That is f***ing mad.

Belal Muhammad: Hockey fights are worse than Power Slap.

Muhammad, American born gtom Chicago, IL, appeared to be the only one who knew it was the Capitals’ captain. Throughout the video, the UFC fighters showed appreciation for the skill, toughness, and balance NHL players have while duking it out.

“They’ve got some better technique than some of us in the UFC I think,” “Meatball” Molly McCann observed.

“I don’t know how they fight on ice,” Aspinall said amazed.

UFC commentator Joe Rogan also reviewed Ovechkin’s highlight-reel bout and reacted to it on his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience.

“That’s a good KO,” he said. “He’s out cold. Look at that. Oh yeah, that guy can punch. You’re punching in the face while he’s punching you in the face, too. It’s chaos.”

This isn’t the first time the UFC has viewed Ovechkin’s signature fight. The organization tweeted about the viral bout the same day it happened.

“You know what they say… ‘Precision beats power, and timing beats speed,’” the UFC posted on X.

Connor McGregor even congratulated Ovechkin on the social media site.

The kudos comes as Ovechkin is a UFC fan and even presented Khabib Nurmagomedov with a Capitals jersey when the team played in San Jose during the 2017-18 season.

“It was great to shake the hand of a champion!” Ovechkin wrote on Instagram. “You’re the greatest!”

After submitting Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, Nurmagomedov retired in 2021 with an undefeated record of 29-0 and is considered one of the best UFC fighters in history.

Note: Sportsnet also showed the UFC 304 fighters NHL logos and asked them to name which teams they were. They mostly failed spectacularly.