Eddie Alvarez congratulates Timofey Nastyukhin after his shock defeat by the Russian. Photos: One Championship<doc-sep>Things did not go to plan for MMA veteran Eddie Alvarez on his One Championship debut in Tokyo as he suffered a brutal first-round TKO defeat to Russia’s Timofey Nastyukhin. Former UFC and Bellator lightweight king Alvarez – considered one of MMA’s all-time greats – was making his promotion bow at “ONE Championship 92: A New Era,” having signed as a free agent on leaving the UFC. But the 35-year-old American came massively undone against Nastyukhin, 29, who finished Alvarez with 55 seconds left in the first round with a huge barrage of punches. Timofey Nastyukhin SHOCKS THE 🌏! The Russian warrior knocks out Eddie Alvarez at 4:05 of Round 1 to advance in the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix! #WeAreONE#ANewEra#Tokyo#MartialArtspic.twitter.com/YxUV0TSnFR — ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) March 31, 2019 Alvarez was taken to a Tokyo hospital as a precaution after the brutal nature of his defeat, which saw his record slip to 29-7 overall, including three losses and one no contest in his last five fights. For Russia’s Nastyukhin, who will not have been on many fight fans’ radars before Sunday, it was the biggest scalp of his career and means he will now contest the promotion’s lightweight grand prix semifinals, where he will face Lowen Tynanes. READ MORE: 'The god of violence does it again': Justin Gaethje KOs Edson Barboza at UFC Philadelphia “I feel very good. You know it is my style,” the heavy-handed Nastyukhin said after dispatching his opponent. “I like to finish in the first round by knockout and I did it. I didn’t think too much. I saw he got hurt. I saw the opportunity and I took it.” There was a largely stunned reaction to the result on social media, with many saying they had not seen such a comprehensive demolition job coming – despite the Russian’s track record in his 16 fights up to that point, with six of his 12 previous wins coming via KO/TKO. I normally hate the phrase "shocked the world" but I think it really applies to what Timofey Nastyukhin (@timnastyukhin) just did #ANewErapic.twitter.com/qFi1WPuzOU — Amy Kaplan (@PhotoAmy33) March 31, 2019 BIG SHOCK IN TOKYO 🇯🇵This was not how #ANewEra was supposed to start... Eddie Alvarez gets finished by Tim Nastyukhin in his #ONEChampionship debut 😱pic.twitter.com/iKtDzIJq8M — Andreas M. Georgiou (@andremgeorgiou) March 31, 2019 I'm still pretty stunned after that. Here's Timofey Nastyukhin's finish of Eddie Alvarez, that's not the way many people predicted it would go. Not a happy outcome for the promotion, either. #ONEANewErapic.twitter.com/KSbkw81IDx — Niall McGrath (@niallmcgrath4) March 31, 2019 Nastyukhin getting the better kf@the opening round here. Eddie not quite got the distance yet ..... WOWWWWWWWW the Russian FINISHES ALVAREZ!!! Huge upset #ANewEra — James Edwards (@MMA_Jim) March 31, 2019 Some, however, felt that Alvarez was something of a spent force heading into the bout, coming off the back of two defeats in the UFC. Eddie Alvarez came into One on the back of two wars with Poirier, the Gaethje classic and the mauling by McGregor.Take nothing away from Nastyukhin but his brain must be like soup after that run. — Andy the MMA guy (@UpTheDarce) March 31, 2019 Definitely picked Eddie to win but I told folks not to sleep on Timofey Nastyukhin.He's not as well known obviously but if you watch this dude fight, you'd see he is a monstrous knockout artist. Proved it again tonight. https://t.co/QNeoLRplVc — Damon Martin (@DamonMartin) March 31, 2019 There was also the somewhat snide suggestion that the happiest man would be UFC chief Dana White, given that Alvarez had left the UFC to join One – only to fail in his first fight. Dana White right now after seeing Eddie Alvarez get Ko’d round one of his debut for one championship pic.twitter.com/vA5zlXb8wI — Polish Caribou (@polishcaribou) March 31, 2019<doc-sep>Demetrious Johnson grapples with Yuya Wakamatsu in their One Championship battle in Tokyo. Photos: One Championship<doc-sep>
Koji Sasahara/Associated Press Demetrious Johnson enjoyed a winning debut in ONE Championship, choking out Yuya Wakamatsu on Sunday, but it was a night to forget for fellow newcomer Eddie Alvarez. Johnson was made to work hard at times by Wakamatsu, but he eventually got the job done in the second round after locking in a guillotine choke on his opponent, per BR Live (U.S. only): "He's good about crossing distance, and the type of game he plays, he wants you to cross distance so he hits you with his right hand and left hook," Johnson said after the win, per Jeff Wagenheim of ESPN. "So for me, I just had a hard time crossing distance carefully. ... But sometimes you battle through adversity in the cage or in life. You just keep on pushing through it." Alvarez, the event’s other big star, didn’t get off to a winning start, though, as he was knocked out in the opening round of his fight with Timofey Nastyukhin. The Russian stunned Alvarez with a blistering left-right combination and backed up Alvarez against the cage to finish the contest: Video Play Button Videos you might like "It's my style," said Nastyukhin after his upset win, per Wagenheim. "I love to finish fights in the first round by knockout, so I did it." Johnson arrived in ONE Championship having established a reputation as one of the finest flyweights in MMA history. In his previous outing, he was beaten at UFC 227 by Henry Cejudo in a split decision, but he’d won 13 bouts in a row prior to that loss, including a record 11 successful title defences. Alvarez’s loss was his second in succession, as he was knocked out by Dustin Poirer in July last year.