A heavyweight contest between Stefan Struve and Tai Tuivasa served as the featured preliminary bout of today’s UFC 254 event on Yas Island.

Stuve (29-12 MMA) was returning to action for the first time since December, where he suffered a second round TKO loss to Ben Rothwell. Prior to the setback, ‘The Skyscraper’ was coming off an impressive submission victory over Marcos Rogério de Lima. The Dutch fighter had gone just 1-4 over his past five Octagon appearances entering today’s event.

Meanwhile, Tai Tuivasa (9-3 MMA) was looking to snap a three-fight losing skid when he squared off with Stefan Struve at UFC 254. The Australian heavyweight was coming off a submission loss to Sergey Spivak in his most recent effort at UFC 243.

Tonight’s UFC 254 featured prelim did not get out of the first round. Tai Tuivasa used continuous pressure to keep Stefan Struve cramped up against the cage. From the clinch, the Australian was able to land some heavy blows, including a massive uppercut, which ended up dropping the Dutch fighter.

Official UFC 254 Result: Tai Tuivasa def. Stefan Struve via KO in Round 1

Check out how the pros reacted to Tuivasa defeating Struve below:

U gotta love @bambamtuivasa #UFC254

— JIMI MANUWA (@POSTERBOYJM) October 24, 2020

Set the alarm for 4:30am here. Don’t want to miss a second of Bam Bam Tuivasa at fight island. Let’s go BamBam #UFC254 #UFCFightIsland

— george rose (@gorgeousgrose) October 24, 2020

https://twitter.com/Nikohybridprice/status/1320057610574417923

https://twitter.com/Thebeast_ufc/status/1320059629284581384

https://twitter.com/alexvolkanovski/status/1320059527610314754

https://twitter.com/bryan_barberena/status/1320057907543744515

Who would you like to see Tai Tuivasa fight next following his KO victory over Stefan Struve today on Yas Island? Share your thoughts in the comments section PENN Nation!

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on October 24, 2020