Kennedy Nzechukwu wasn’t supposed to be in the UFC Vegas 65 main event and for a round it looked like he might not deliver a headlining performance.
But the hard-hitting light heavyweight authored an impressive comeback in the second round, bludgeoning Ion Cutelaba with powerful strikes to score a stoppage 62 seconds into the frame. That’s two straight wins now for Nzechukwu, who boosted his UFC record to 5-3.
Nzechukwu & Cutelaba did not know they would be closing UFC APEX Las Vegas. It was only shortly before the main event began that it was revealed that Lewis was in the hospital. The original headliner, between Derrick Lewis and Serghei SPivac, was cancelled.
That left Saturday’s event with just 11 fights and a shortage of star power, but the main card still managed to deliver competitive contests and exciting finishes.
See what fighters had to say about Nzechukwu’s big win and the rest of UFC Vegas 65 below.
Kennedy Nzechukwu def. Ion Cutelaba
Wooow the comeback kid
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) November 19, 2022
Wow What a come back by Nzechukwu #UFCVegas63
— Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili (@MerabDvalishvil) November 19, 2022
Damn that guy woke up! And I say “that guy” because I don’t want to type his last name #UFCVegas65
— Brian BOOM Kelleher (@brianboom135) November 19, 2022
Nzechukwu gave us a beautiful finish for the last minute main event what a dog
— Terrance ‘T Wrecks’ McKinney (@twrecks155) November 19, 2022
Proud of you my brother. You’re a champ https://t.co/1937ajdDQp
— Ramiz Brahimaj (@170Ramiz) November 19, 2022
Exciting round and a bit by Cutelaba and Nzechukwu as we knew it would be but damn. Great timing on that knee. Violent ending. Good win by Nzechukwu. #UFCVegas63
— Tanner Boser (@BulldozerBoser) November 19, 2022
Impressive #UFCVegas65
— Charles Rosa (@CharlesRosaMMA) November 19, 2022
NZECHUKWU is awesome. Superb finish. I loved his post-fight speech. #Humble @ufc
— David Rickels (@TheCaveman316) November 19, 2022
My 85-year-old abuela was hyped watching that finishing sequence.. But got upset when she found out Derrick Lewis fight got pulled lol
— Adrian Yanez (@yanezmma) November 19, 2022
Waldo Cortes-Acosta def. Chase Sherman
What a chin on Sherman tho #UFCVegas65
— Billy Quarantillo (@BillyQMMA) November 19, 2022
Sherman shows heart after taking all that punishment. #UFCVegas65
— John Wayne Makdessi (@JohnMakdessi) November 19, 2022
What if he’s “unintentionally ” playing the finger on the mat game ? Ya know just like unintentional eye pokes up for referee discretion of if he thinks it was on purpose or not
— Brian BOOM Kelleher (@brianboom135) November 19, 2022
Acosta jab is money super sharp
— Terrance ‘T Wrecks’ McKinney (@twrecks155) November 19, 2022
Muslim Salikhov def. Andre Fialho
Wow that’s a lot of spins pic.twitter.com/jW1sbyisuX
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) November 19, 2022
Clinical finishing!!
— LERONE MURPHY (@LeroneMurphy) November 19, 2022
Salikhov left hook is crisp tonight
— Randy Brown (@TouchNgo_) November 19, 2022
It feels like Fialho has fought 37 times this year and Im here for that kind of action
— Terrance ‘T Wrecks’ McKinney (@twrecks155) November 19, 2022
Jack Della Maddalena def. Danny Roberts
Broooo Della is a class act! #UFCVegas63
— Dan Hangman Hooker (@danthehangman) November 19, 2022
Mr JDM is VIOLENT! #UFCVegas65
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) November 19, 2022
Clean by JDM get him on Perth. #UFCVegas63
— Joshua Culibao (@culibaomma) November 19, 2022
This guy is special damnn @ufc #UFCVegas65
— Charles Rosa (@CharlesRosaMMA) November 19, 2022
Jack Della Madalena is so slick! Fun to watch @ufc
— Dan Ige (@Dynamitedan808) November 19, 2022
Charles Johnson def. Zhalgas Zhumagulov
This is the longest fight in ufc history
— Terrance ‘T Wrecks’ McKinney (@twrecks155) November 19, 2022
Wild fight @ufc
— Saidyokub Kakhramonov (@SaidYokubMMA) November 19, 2022
Dog fight for sure. #UFCVegas65
— Cody Durden (@Cody_Durden) November 19, 2022
Zhalgas got it back in blood! #UFCVegas65
— Jeff Molina (@jmolina_125) November 19, 2022
Congratulations Charles Johnson , wrestling looked good
26 takedowns in London improved your game— Muhammad Mokaev (@muhammadmokaev) November 19, 2022
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2022/11/19/23468237/the-comeback-kid-fighters-react-kennedy-nzechukwus-big-knockout-in-makeshift-ufc-vegas-65-main-event?rand=96749
