Georges St-Pierre was left dumbfounded after seeing Nassourdine Imavov knockout Israel Adesanya in the flesh.
St-Pierre had front row seats for the main event clash at UFC Saudi Arabia as Adesanya suffered his third straight loss in the promotion.
A cageside camera caught the UFC legend looking with interest just as Adesanya was cracked with a huge right hand by Imavov that sent him crashing into the canvas.
Fans around him, who were clearly supporting the French underdog, leapt up and burst into an applause, but St-Pierre remained on his seat and literally couldn’t speak.
The former welterweight king, who holds multiple UFC records, then looked up to watch the instant replay, which left him even more astounded.
Adesanya had exacted revenged in April 2023 by knocking out Alex Pereira at the fourth time of asking to regain his UFC middleweight title before Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis handed him back-to-back defeats.
Heading into the fight with Imavov he needed a win to stay at the summit of the middleweight rankings, but the latter denied him that privilege in brutal style.
Adesanya started well, landing several heavy leg kicks while making good use of his footwork as Imavov pushed forward looking to cancel out his shots.
Towards the back end of the opening round, Imavov then caught Adesanya with a big right hand, which accurately foreshadowed what was to come.
The Nigerian-born New Zealander wore it well but the next time Imavov connected with the same shot it sent him on his hands and knees.
Not even 30 seconds into round two, Imavov landed another right hand on Adesanya before narrowly missing with a follow-up left hook as the favourite was on his way down.
Imavov then caught Adesanya with a booming left uppercut before a flurry of shots to his grounded opponent left referee Marc Goddard with no choice but to stop the fight.
Everyone in attendance in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia was left stunned by the finish, including St-Pierre and Adesanya, who banged the canvas in fury as the result sunk in.
St-Pierre defended his welterweight title 11 times en route to retiring from MMA in November 2017 as the reigning, undisputed champion.
He lost just two of his 23 fights in Dana White‘s promotion, having beaten the likes of BJ Penn, Matt Serra, Nick Diaz and Michael Bisping during his career.
MMA fans were quick with their responses to St-Pierre’s reaction at UFC Saudi Arabia.
One took to X and wrote: “GSP knows that this loss means the beginning of the end in terms of Izzy’s career.”
While another added: “Not everyone can retire on top like GSP!”
A third said: “Georges was really heartbroken on the inside.”
Adesanya left the octagon without giving an interview as he now weighs up his career in the face of defeat.
He has enjoyed a Hall of Fame worthy career to date, having defeated most of the best fighters from his generation, such as Robert Whittaker, Yoel Romero, and Pereira.
MMA fans around the world, including St-Pierre, will eagerly anticipate his next move in the UFC.