In the co-main event of the UFC’s Saturday-night UFC Auckland card, American Derek Brunson met Australia’s Dan Kelly in a clash of ranked middleweights.
Though Kelly entered the fight with a good deal of momentum behind him, this one was all Brunson.
Moments into the first round, the American put his foe down with a crashing left hand to the temple. After bouncing Kelly’s head off the canvas like a basketball with a few followup ground strikes, the referee was jumping in to stop the action. Brunson’s knockout win occurred at 1:16 of the first.
Here’s the video of Brunson’s clobbering knockout win:
KO!
One and done for @derekbrunson with the straight left on @dankellyjudo! POW! #UFCAuckland https://t.co/UsQR7LMxRN
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) June 11, 2017
With this win, Brunson separates himself from a knockout loss to Australia’s Robert Whittaker, and a controversial decision defeat to middleweight Anderson “The Spider” Silva. The powerful wrestler is now 17-5 overall, and 8-3 in the UFC. He followed this impressive win with a callout of Antonio Carlos Jr.
Kelly, on the other hand, has a four-fight streak derailed by this loss. He’s now 13-2 overall.
Who do you want to see Derek Brunson fight next?
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 6/10/2017.