Umar Dzambekov uncorked a perfectly executed right uppercut that viciously knocked out the light heavyweight veteran early in the second round of their Zuffa Boxing co-feature Sunday night at Meta APEX in Las Vegas. With Elbiali convulsing on the canvas, referee Allen Huggins quickly waved an end to their scheduled 10-round bout on the Efe Ajagba-Charles Martin undercard.

Dzambekov (14-0, 10 KOs), a Russian southpaw, outboxed Elbiali in the first round by landing to his head and body and fighting from his preferred distance. He set a trap and annihilated Elbiali (24-2, 19 KOs) with the right uppercut that sent him to the canvas 53 seconds into the second round.

Egypt’s Elbiali, 35, hadn’t lost in eight years before Sunday night, not since former WBC light heavyweight champ Jean Pascal stopped him in the sixth round in December 2017.

“Well, I was going in there always prepared to go the distance, if necessary,” Dzambekov told Max Kellerman in the ring. “I always say that, but yeah, I work on the shots, and when I see a chance I go for it. And [the] uppercut, you can ask my coach, I’ve been practicing that, exactly the same move, and it landed. So, I can’t complain.”

Jaybrio Pe Benito dropped heavily favored Abel Mejia twice and knocked out the 22-year-old lightweight prospect in the third round of the opening fight of Zuffa Boxing’s tripleheader on Paramount+.

The Hawaii-born, Hollywood-based Pe Benito abruptly ended their scheduled eight-rounder with a right hand that sent Mejia to the canvas 35 seconds into the third round. Mejia beat referee Mark Nelson’s count, but Nelson knew Mejia shouldn’t continue and waved an end to their bout 48 seconds into the third round.

They traded shots late in the second round, until Pe Benito’s counter left hook knocked Mejia to the seat of his trunks with seven seconds remaining in the round.

Mejia got to one knee, composed himself and got up as Nelson’s count reached eight. The bell sounded to end the second round before the action resumed.

The 29-year-old Pe Benito, who is trained by Hall of Famer Freddie Roach, improved to 7-0 and recorded his fifth knockout. Mejia (10-1, 7 KOs), of El Modena, California, entered the ring as a 10-1 favorite. Keith Idec is a senior writer and columnist for The Ring. He can be reached on X @idecboxing.