Andre Fialho impressed with his second appearance at the octagon, after scoring a stunning knockout of Miguel Baeza at UFC Vegas 51..
The win didn’t come easy as Fialho had to survive an early onslaught before staging a comeback that saw him blast Baeza with a series of uppercuts that turned the tide in the fight. Once Baeza was stunned, Fialho just rushed forward with a perfectly timed left hook that put the 29-year-old welterweight down on the canvas with the fight being stopped just a split second later.
The official end time came at 4:39 in the first round.
“I hit very hard,” Fialho said. My coach said that I am very technical. I just need to stay composed.
“Another day at the office. I want to stay active. I have no injuries. Give me a fight.”
With a very long reach, it was Baeza doing a great job keeping Fialho on the end of his punches including a nasty straight right hand that just snapped Fialho’s head back. Fialho was not afraid to trade with Baeza, but had to be cautious when entering the exchanges.
Baeza almost made Fialho pay for it again in the second round. He unleashed an avalanche of punches that left Fialho pinned against the cage, trying to dodge and duck out.
Baeza kept throwing confidently, but Fialho got onto the inside. He grabbed the backside of his head and began launching several uppercuts.
The first two punches were clean, but Baeza’s uppercuts continued until the final shot left him on wobbly legs.
Baeza backed up and rattled, and Fialho raced ahead with an explosive left hook. This saw him pop his opponent’s head and sent him crashing to the ground. Fialho responded with another huge punch, but the referee had already arrived to end the match before further damage could be done.
While Baeza complained about the stoppage because he was still trying to hold on when the referee ended the fight, replays showed him slamming to the ground in emphatic fashion from the knockout blow landed by Fialho that helped earn the Brazilian his first UFC win and more importantly his first finish in the promotion.
Fialho moves to 15-4 overall while evening his overall UFC record at 1-1 following a loss in a short-notice debut back in January.
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