Aljamain Sterling tweets that he's OK after brutal knockout by Marlon Moraes at UFC-Fresno

What happened to Aljamain Sterling at UFC Fight Night 123 was downright scary. The good news, though, is that he’s feeling OK.

Sterling was on the receiving end of a “Knockout of the Year” candidate Saturday night, when Marlon Moraes connected with a vicious knee to score the victory after just 67 seconds into their FS1-televised bantamweight bout at Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif.

Sterling (14-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) was instantly out cold and crashed to the canvas after taking the knee flush on the chin. He lay there for several minutes, even as Moraes (20-5-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) conducted his post-fight interview off to the side of the octagon.

Sterling was stretchered out of the arena. MMAjunkie’s John Morgan, who was on site, reported that Sterling was awake while doctors tended to him backstage. But he was still transported to the hospital as a precaution.

About 2 hours after the fight, Sterling issued an update on his condition and gave credit to Moraes for the win (via Twitter).

Hats off to Marlon. Thought I timed the TD perfectly and he was able to land a nasty knee. Sucks to be the nail, but this is the fight game. I’m ok for all those asking ????

Moraes, a former WSOF champion, won for the second time within a month after suffering a split-decision loss in his UFC debut to Raphael Assuncao in June. Sterling had a two-fight winning streak snapped.

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 123, check out the UFC Events section of the site.