UFC Fight Night 109 results: Bojan Velickovic TKOs Nico Musoke in final minute of close fight

STOCKHOLM – At the tail end of a close fight, Bojan Velickovic and Nico Musoke both squared up to throw right hands at the same time. While both punches landed, it was the fadeaway right hook from Velickovic that had the greater effect.

It left Musoke stumbling around the octagon on shaky legs before he finally went down and was TKO’d, bringing an end to the bout at the 4:37 mark of Round 3.

The welterweight fight was part of today’s UFC Fight Night 109 prelims at Ericsson Globe in Stockholm. It aired on FS1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

It was by no means a runaway in either direction, but right up until the decisive blow landed it seemed as if Musoke (13-5 MMA, 3-3 UFC) might have the edge on the scorecards in a fight that appeared increasingly likely to go the distance. After controlling Velickovic (15-4-1 MMA, 2-1-1 UFC) on the mat for most of the first frame, he was the more aggressive fighter in the second round and seemed wholly unthreatened for much of the third.

Velickovic’s offensive opportunities came in short bursts, usually after some minor mistake by Musoke, and not in enough abundance to allow him to sustain a major forward push. So it was somewhat fitting that the fight’s most important strike came even as Velickovic was backing up, when he fired a counter right hook to answer the striking onslaught of the advancing Musoke.

While the simultaneous right hand thrown by Musoke also landed just as Velickovic’s did, it was immediately clear from Musoke’s reaction that he got the worse end of the exchanging. The power in both his legs seemed to disappear instantly, leaving him staggering backward as he attempted to find his footing, all while Velickovic was realizing that his moment had finally come.

As Velickovic advanced to seize the opportunity, Musoke finally collapsed. Velickovic needed no invitation to pounce on his wounded foe, standing over Musoke and adding just enough followup punishment to force the TKO stoppage with less than 30 seconds remaining in the fight.

The victory gets Velickovic back in the win column for the first time since his split-decision loss to Sultan Aliev in December. Musoke has now lost two straight.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 109 results include:

• Bojan Velickovic def. Nico Musoke via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 4:37
• Darren Till def. Jessin Ayari via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-27)
• Damir Hadzovic def. Marcin Held via knockout (knee) – Round 3, 0:07

For more on UFC Fight Night 109, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan contributed to this report on site in Stockholm.)