Cheeky UFC fighter Nadia Kassem fakes a glove touch and kicks rival but loses to Ji Yeon Kim at UFC 243

NADIA KASSEM failed to get one over on rival Ji Yeon Kim during their flyweight bout at UFC 243 after she cheekily faked a glove touch.

The Australian was eventually stopped by a flurry of body shots late in the second round but it was the opening seconds of the fight that caused the biggest headline.

The 23-year-old entered the Octagon on the back of a submission loss to Montana De La Rosa in February, and she pulled out every underhand tactic to avoid back-to-back defeats.

As soon as referee Jim Perdios instructed the pair to fight, Kassem charged towards Kim with her palm fully extend to initiate a glove touch.

South Korean Kim clearly reciprocates the sporting gesture as they meet in the middle only for her opponent to launch a kick in her ribs.

Unfortunately for Kassem, her attempt to get the upper hand massively backfired as she was instantly floored with a left-handed strike.

And it got worse still for the 187 star as she was then dropped by a series of body blows in the second round that condemned her to a second successive defeat.

Despite Kim prevailing in the bout, fans weren’t so quick to forgive Kassem for her cheap maneuver and branded it a “rat move.”

Another said: “Madness, instant karma! Kim was like a robot haha.”

A third added: “Should have touched gloves Nadia. Show some class next time and maybe you’ll win a fight.”

Elsewhere in Melbourne, Israel Adesanya won the Australasia derby against Robert Whittaker to take the UFC middleweight title back to New Zealand.

The Last Stylebender completed his four-year journey from fan in the ‘nosebleed’ seats watching Holly Holm dethrone Ronda Rousey, to world champion at the very same venue.

Aucklander Adesanya defeated champion Whittaker in front of a new record UFC crowd as 57,000 fans packed in the Marvel Stadium to witness the devastating two-round destruction.