Video: Oli Thompson lands devastating first-round knockout punch on Aleksei Oleinik in Russia

Aleksei Oleinik returned to action for the first time since his UFC exit, but things did not go in his favor.

In the main event of REN TV Fight Club at Dynamo Volleyball Arena in Moscow, Russia, Oleinik (60-17-1 MMA) faced fellow UFC veteran Oli Thompson in a heavyweight bout. The result was a violent finish that left Oleinik staring up at the lights.

Thompson (21-16 MMA) unleashed a crushing right hand that sent Oleinik crashing to the canvas with 35 seconds remaining in the opening round.

Check out video of the finish below (via Twitter):

Oli Thompson destroys Alexey Oleynik with a massive right hand in the first round pic.twitter.com/AdWy25dQxR

— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) May 26, 2023

Thompson, 43, returned to the win column for the first time since 2020, snapping a four-fight losing skid. His last victory was also a first-round stoppage; a 23-second knockout of Szymon Bajor at Fight Exclusive Night 28 on June 13, 2020.

Oleinik, 45, competed in his final UFC bout in October 2022, where he dropped a unanimous decision to Ilir Latifi. “The Boa Constrictor” known for slapping on the ezekiel choke, had a 17-fight UFC run that began in 2014. During that stretch, Oleinik won nine bouts and finished seven of those fights in the opening round.