LAS VEGAS -- Diego Lopes lost his UFC debut to Movsar Evloev, but since then, the Brazilian lightweight has been nothing but devastating.
Lopes knocked out Sodiq Yusuff at 1:29 of the first round Saturday on the preliminary card of UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena. IT was his third consecutive win by first-round finish, which have come in a ridiculously quick 1:38 over Gavin Tucker, 1:30 over Pat Sabatini and 1:29 of Yusuff.
Lopes and Yusuff were in a clinch against the cage when Lopes drilled Yusuff with a massive left hand. It hurt Yusuff and the fight was essentially over there. Lopes went for the ground-and-pound and got in a number of terrific shots. But Yusuff is nothing if not tough and he managed to get to his feet.
He wasn't there long. Lopes dropped him quickly again and finished him with strikes before referee Mark Smith mercifully ended it.
"I promise you, I will be the champion of this division," Lopes said.
After what we've seen in his last three outings, it's hard to argue with him.
Kayla Harrison mauls Holly Holm in UFC debut
Holly Holm won the UFC women's bantamweight title by upsetting a heavily favored Olympic medalist in judo. That was in 2015 when she finished Ronda Rousey at UFC 193. But on Saturday at UFC 300, she had no such luck with the second Olympic medalist she faced in MMA.
Kayla Harrison made her UFC debut a highly impressive one, overwhelming Holm and submitting her at 1:47 of the second round with a rear naked choke.
Harrison nearly stopped Holm in the first. She threw Holm from the clinch and landed in top position. She was raining down elbows and right hands and referee Marc Godard was watching carefully. He gave the 42-year-old former champion every opportunity but all it wound up doing was getting her to take more punishment.
"I want my title next," Harrison said in the Octagon. "That's what I came over here for."
The division isn't as good or as deep now as it was when Holm won the belt, and it doesn't seem like a stretch that Harrison might hold the belt by the end of the year.
Mark J. Rebilas/USA Today Sports
Kayla Harrison delivers ground-and-pound to Holly Holm Saturday in their bout at UFC 300 in Las Vegas.
Aljamain Sterling outwrestles Calvin Kattar in featherweight debut
Former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling was victorious in his featherweight debut, though it might be a stretch to call it a success. He won 30-27 on all cards, defeating Calvin Kattar by taking him down and pinning him to the mat. There were few exchanges or scrambles and the crowd booed the action throughout.
Sterling hit eight of 13 takedown attempts in the fight and held Kattar, one of the division's best strikers, to only eight significant strikes landed in 15 minutes of fighting.
Sterling had 10:43 of control time in a fight that just never really got untracked. But it was as much Kattar's fault as it was Sterling's, as he couldn't stop the takedown and was unable to get up.
Sterling had a bit of ground-and-pound in the waning seconds of the third round, but nothing was truly close to a finish.
Jiri Prochazka stops Aleksandar Rakic in second round in wild slugfest
Jiri Prochazka was offended before the fight at Aleksandar Rakic's suggestions that he's not "a real samurai." Well, Prochazka had the opportunity Saturday in the featured preliminary bout of UFC 300, and he did.
In a terrific back-and-forth slugfest, Prochazka relied on his sheer punching power to score a second-round KO of Rakic and re-establish himself as a legitmate championship contender. He lost a bout for the vacant title in New York in November to Alex Pereira and is determined to get back. He called out the winner of the main event between Pereira and Jamahal Hill.
"Like I said,I want to fight the champion tonight," Prochazka said. "Not tonight, but ASAP."
Prochazka ended it at 3:17 of the second. All right, he stalked forward, hands at his sides, as Rakic chopped at his legs. But Prochazka believed in his power and it paid off. He landed a hard jab and followed with a crushing right cross. Rakic went down and Prochazka finished it on the ground.
"I'm not a samurai, but I'm living with these rules and I believe in myself with these dreams in my head," Prochazka said.
It wasn't perfect, but it was the storm
Like I said, I want to fight the champion tonight. Not tonight, but ASAP