Video: After visa issues, Mairbek Taisumov returned to score this dazzling 1-punch KO

ROTTERDAM – Unable to fight in the U.S. due to visa issues, Mairbek Taisumov made the most of his rare opportunity to actually get in the octagon.

At UFC Fight Night 115 on Saturday, Taisumov (27-5 MMA, 6-1 UFC) blasted fellow lightweight Felipe Silva (8-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) with a one-punch knockout and picked up a $50,000 fight-night bonus as a result.

Here’s the stunning shot (via Twitter)

“Yeah, I felt it that I caught him,” he told MMAjunkie about the preliminary-card bout, which streamed on UFC Fight Pass from Ahoy Rotterdam in the Netherlands. “I felt that the punch landed.”

It was the 29-year-old Chechen fighter’s first bout since April 2016, and it moved him to 5-0 with five knockouts over the past three years.

“I was happy to get back in the octagon,” he said. “It’d been a long time since I fought – about one-and-a-half years, and without injuries. I didn’t have injuries. I was just training. … But I’m finally here, and I got that win.”

Why the delay? And what’s next?

Following his UFC Fight Night 115 win, he (comically) called out a number of potential opponents, including Nate Diaz and Anthony Pettis (via Twitter):

As for a date, he said UFC Fight Night 118 on Oct. 21 would work just fine.

“I cannot fight in the U.S., so I think I will be ready for October in Poland,” he said. “No injuries. No worries. I feel good.”

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 115, check out the UFC Events section of the site.