Dominick Reyes showed he’s here to stay at UFC 333.
The two-time light heavyweight title challenger made an emphatic statement Saturday in Abu Dhabi, blasting Azamat Murzakanov with a head kick en route to a thrilling first-round knockout.
Watch the ending sequence below.
Reyes and Murzakanov spent much of the opening round bouncing and circling, each man searching for an angle to land a knockout blow. Murzakanov tooks a slight edge on the scorecards as he advanced with punches, but Reyes caught him with a head kick that had Murzakanov on shaky legs. With Murzakanov’s defense compromised, Reyes followed with a signature left hand that put dropped Murzakanov.
Referee Mike Beltran gave Murzakanov every chance to recover, but Reyes rained down ground-and-pound until the bout was waved off 2:40 into Round 1.
That’s back-to-back wins for Reyes (17-5), following a split nod over Johnny Walker this past April. He has now won five of his past six fights.
Murzakanov has lost two straight after winning the first 16 fights of his pro career. Both of his losses have come by way of knockout, with Reyes and Paulo Costa both finishing the Russian standout.
