After a magnificent UFC 275 in Singapore, the UFC returned to the States for a UFC Fight Night event in Austin, Texas. The first bout of the night ended sensationally as the Georgian middleweight, Roman Dolidze, shut down Kyle Daukaus in the first round.
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The promotion had a pair of exciting middleweight prospects to kick off the night after the success of UFC 275, which boxing legend Teddy Atlas dubbed as ‘Thrilla in Singapore‘.
Roman Dolidze KNOCKS out Kyle Daukaus to kickstart the #UFCAustin prelims!
— Lewis Simpson (@LewisSimpsonMMA) June 18, 2022
The Israel Adesanya-led division keeps producing exciting finishes with Dolidze ending proceedings in just 73 seconds. ‘The Caucasian’, who landed a knee that dropped Daukaus, followed the Martinez BJJ standout to the ground and finished the bout with a ground and pound.
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The knockout in the first bout had the arena buzzing.
MMA world reacts to first-round finish at UFC Austin
Fight fans had an early entrance into the world of violence inside the Octagon, with the first bout of the prelims ending with a knockout. Thus, they shared their reactions to the chaotic bout on Twitter.
Roman Dolidze drops Kyle Daukaus with a combo on the clinch break and when wrestling along the fence, found a heavy knee that collapsed Daukaus. Finished him off from there. Strong start to the card.
— Luke Thomas (@lthomasnews) June 18, 2022
I knew this would be a violent card. Fucking hell, Dolidze. That's one of those face breaking knees
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) June 18, 2022
Brutal. https://t.co/Pi4q9Trblo
— Jordan Patu (@Jordan_Patu) June 18, 2022
The sound of the knee is horrifying pic.twitter.com/KHqzDodZtE
— Alex Behunin (@AlexBehunin) June 18, 2022
"I can hit, heavy hands, and I can kill everybody here." – Roman Dolidze #UFCAustin
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) June 18, 2022
With the win, Dolidze has now 4 victories in his five UFC bouts. The blemish on his UFC career came against Trevin Giles, which remains the only loss in his professional MMA career. His overall record stands at 10-1.
This was the first time Daukaus (11-3-0) lost a bout via a finish.
Roman Dolidze wanted to show he was not just a grappler
In the post-fight interview, the Georgian reacted to his performance. Since ‘The Caucasian’ got the first-round knockout, he had a few words to say about his style.
“I’m really happy that I could show to everyone, that I’m not just a grappler I can knock out people,” said Dolidze.
"I'm really happy that I could show to everyone, that I'm not just a grappler I can knock out people."
Roman Dolidze (@RomanDolidzeUFC) reflects on his first round TKO that opened #UFCAustin.
— UFC News (@UFCNews) June 18, 2022
With the impressive showing against a tough Kyle Daukaus, who was seen as a fighter soon to break into the top 15 of the middleweight rankings, the Georgian-born mixed martial artist proved he’s one of the hottest prospects in the division.
A few more impressive wins like this could see the 33-year-old booked against the top 10 of the division.
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What did you think of Roman Dolidze’s performance? Let us know in the comments section.
Written by
Edited by
Reubyn Coutinho