‘You can’t slam a punch into his face like that’: Outrage as bare-knuckle boxer lands blow on ALREADY-UNCONSCIOUS rival (VIDEO)

Former UFC fighter Houston Alexander was blasted by fans online after his bare-knuckle boxing debut ended in controversy as he landed a blow on grounded rival Wes Combs – who already appeared to be unconscious.

Alexander, 49, is a UFC and Bellator alumnus and still seems to be carrying the instincts from his MMA days judging by his performance against fellow veteran Combs at BKFC 21 in Omaha, Nebraska, on Friday night.

Making his bare-knuckle bow, Alexander landed a lights-out right hand shot on his rival around 30 seconds into the first round of their heavyweight showdown.

But if that was spectacular, what followed next was controversial as Alexander followed up with a blow to his rival in scenes reminiscent of a ground-and-pound seen inside the MMA cage.

Despite the contentious move, Alexander wasn’t penalized by officials in Nebraska and was declared winner by KO just 34 seconds into the bout.

Fans online, however, were divided over the conclusion to the contest.

“What’s the rules here because that looked like a DQ to me!” questioned one fan.

“[You] can’t slam a punch into a guys face when he’s down,” said another.

“DQ, barred from the organization and at minimum a 5-year ban from being approved by the athletic commission. That is disgusting beyond measure,” fumed another.

Elsewhere, fight fans referenced the ages of the two veteran stars.

“48yrs old vs 49yrs old. What could go wrong?” tweeted one popular account.

“That’s a DQ in my opinion man that was brutal, this guest commentator making all the excuses in the world,” said another.

Some observers noted that it was surely Alexander’s instincts from his MMA days kicking in.

“Wasn't right but when you fight MMA for years and then just switch to BKB… it's going to be hard to not have the muscle memory to not follow up with shots. You could tell Houston felt super bad about it,” said another.

The result means Alexander made a winning start on his combat sports comeback after not competing since the end of 2017.

California fighter Combs meanwhile slipped to 1-1 in his two bouts with BKFC.