Radivoje Kalajdzic pulled one of the wildest turnarounds of the young year on Saturday night, stopping Oleksandr Gvozdyk in the seventh round at Zuffa Boxing 02. It was the kind of fight that looks finished early, then somehow flips completely, leaving a former champion stunned and a heavy underdog standing tall.
Oleksandr Gvozdyk came out looking every bit the favourite. He controlled the opening rounds with his feet and his timing, dropping Radivoje Kalajdzic twice early, including a clean right hand that put Kalajdzic on the canvas hard. Through the first stretch of the fight, Gvozdyk was landing first and last, piling up rounds and dictating the pace as if the night was heading for a routine decision.
Kalajdzic stayed patient and kept pushing forward, even after taking damage that would have broken many fighters. As the rounds wore on, his right hand began finding a home, and Gvozdyk’s reactions slowed just enough to invite exchanges he had been avoiding earlier. The shift was gradual, but it was real, and the confidence started to swing.
That swing became a collapse in the seventh. Kalajdzic caught Gvozdyk with a series of heavy shots that snapped his head back and left him visibly shaken. Gvozdyk went down, beat the count, but never regained his balance, and as Kalajdzic poured on more right hands, the referee stepped in to stop the fight, sealing a dramatic technical knockout.
For Gvozdyk, the loss is a damaging one after controlling so much of the fight. For Kalajdzic, it is a career-defining win built on toughness and belief, climbing off the floor to stop a former world champion who looked untouchable early.
The 10 round light heavyweight bout took place February 1, 2026 at Zuffa Boxing 02 inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streamed on Paramount+.
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Last Updated on 02/01/2026
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