In a thrilling UFC matchup, Nigeria’s Kennedy Nzechukwu made his heavyweight debut with a powerful first-round TKO win.
Originally, Derrick Lewis and Serghei Spivac were set for the main event at UFC APEX, but an illness sidelined Lewis on fight day.
This opened the door for Nzechukwu and Ion Cutelaba to step up, with Nzechukwu clinching an impressive second-round finish over the Moldovan, known as “The Hulk.”
Promoted to the main event spot last-minute, Nzechukwu seized the opportunity with a standout performance, halting Cutelaba in the second round of their light heavyweight clash.
Cutelaba started strong, rattling Nzechukwu and pressing him up against the fence. Just ninety seconds in, he took Nzechukwu down, landing in the mount.
Although Nzechukwu returned to his feet with two minutes left, Cutelaba kept the pressure on, scoring another takedown soon after.
Nzechukwu fought to break free and attempted his own takedown as they got back up but couldn’t land it.
Moments later, a knee from Nzechukwu stunned Cutelaba. Although Cutelaba tried to recover with a low kick, the Nigeria native didn’t back down, keeping up the pressure and landing a series of unanswered strikes that prompted referee Keith Peterson to step in. The official stoppage came at 1:02 of round two.
With this victory, Nzechukwu advances to an 11-3 record, while Cutelaba drops to 16-9-1, 1 NC | Official Scorecards
