Cameroon ‘Predator’ triumphant with 26 second KO

Cameroonian Francis ‘Predator’ Ngannou highlighted his punching power in the UFC heavyweight division with a 26 second knockout of out of Cain Velasquez in round one of the main event at Fight Night: Ngannou v Velasquez.

The event, which was held at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona in the early hours of Monday morning, underlined the fact that the Cameroonian is a real threat in the heavyweight division and poses serious danger for any opponent he comes up against.

There was a lot of talk building up to the event surrounding Velasquez (who is a two-time heavyweight champion in the UFC) and his return to the Octagon, and many believed he would dominate his opponent.

However, that was not the case when Ngannou landed numerous combinations and a deadly upper-cut as Velasquez rushed in for the take-down. The flurry of blows from the ‘Predator’ saw the former heavyweight champ drop to the canvas as his left knee gave way. He ate two more punches while in pain from the knee injury before referee Jason Herzog stopped the bout.

Speaking after the fight, Ngannou dedicated the victory to his late aunt and emphasized that fight fans can expect to see a lot more of him.

“I want to dedicate this win to my aunt who passed away earlier this year. I promise you guys, I’m back, as I said before, I’m back. You will see me a lot, I hope you enjoyed it,” said the Cameroonian.

“I know I had to face the adversity of a fighter like Cain. I’m honoured to be here and take the win.

“I didn’t even realise what happened, it was so fast. I was just here to relax, have fun and enjoy the fight.”

Velasquez, on the other hand, apologised for his display and praised Ngannou.

“Give it up to Francis. He came in here and did his job,” said Velasquez.

“I stayed a little too close, too early.

“[My knee] just kind of buckled there on the shots. I stayed a little too close and it was dangerous.

“I can give you guys more and you know I can give you guys more. I'm truly sorry for this.”

The co-main event saw Paul Felder and James Vick produce a great fight in the lightweight division. Felder picked up the win via unanimous decision after landing the majority of the cleanest and hardest strikes.

The main card in Phoenix started with Andre Fili beating Myles Jury via unanimous decision in a featherweight contest. Fili dictated matters from the outset with his snapping jab, busting up the face of Jury as the two featherweights engaged in a good scrap devoid of takedowns and filled with kickboxing.

The fight of the event was definitely the second main card bout with Vicente Luque and Bryan Barberena standing toe-to-toe and trading huge blows for the three rounds, like something out of a Rocky movie.

Both fighters were knocked to the canvas by their opponents in the fight, but in the end it was Luque who knocked Barberena out with only six seconds left in round three of the welterweight contest.

The next fight saw UFC debutant Kron Gracie render Alex Caceres useless in his first fight inside the Octagon, instantly bringing down the American and locking him in a vicious rear-naked choke to win the featherweight contest in just over two minutes.

The last bout ahead of the co-main event produced the only woman’s fight in the event as Cynthia Calvillo defeated Cortney Casey via unanimous decision in the strawweight division in what was mainly a kickboxing match.

MAIN CARD

Heavyweight
Francis Ngannou defeated Cain Velasquez via KO (punches) R1, 00:26

Lightweight
Paul Felder defeated James Vick via Decision (unanimous) (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

Women’s Strawweight
Cynthia Calvillo defeated Cortney Casey via Decision (unanimous) (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Featherweight
Kron Gracie defeated Alex Caceres via submission (rear-naked choke) R1, 2:06

Welterweight
Vicente Luque defeated Bryan Barberena via TKO (knees and punches) R3, 4:54

Featherweight
Andre Fili defeated Myles Jury via Decision (unanimous) (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

UNDERCARD
Aljamain Sterling defeated Jimmie Rivera via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
Manny Bermudez defeated Benito Lopez via submission (R1, 3:09)
Andrea Lee defeated Ashlee Evans-Smith via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
Nik Lentz defeated Scott Holtz via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
Luke Sanders defeated Renan Barao via TKO (R2, 1:01)
Emily Whitmire defeated Aleksandra Albu via submission (R1, 1:01)