"I thought I was dying": A Ukrainian UFC fighter faced defeat in the very first round of the match.

In Las Vegas, at the UFC Vegas 101 mixed martial arts tournament, Ukrainian fighter Ihor Poterya suffered a knockout loss in the first round.

His opponent, Marco Tulio, managed to land a blow to the Ukrainian's face in the first round and began unleashing a barrage of strikes while already on the canvas of the octagon.

The referee did not stop the fight for some time, giving Poterya a chance to turn the situation around, but ultimately awarded the victory to Tulio.

"I will take a break for now, I don’t know for how long, but definitely for a year. Over the past year, I have gone through 4 terrible weight cuts, losing a total of 70 kg across these 4 cuts, and my body is saying: 'Ihor, please stop.'

This time I felt like I was dying and couldn’t even cut the weight properly. There’s no focus or desire of a hunter left, as I have completely exhausted myself both physically and mentally," Poterya wrote after the fight.

Background. It’s worth noting that Poterya was unable to make weight for his division prior to the fight, which forced him to forfeit 25% of his purse to his opponent.