5 UFC debutants who wasted no time in delivering a knockout
For any MMA fighter, debuting in the UFC is one of the most stressful and nerve-wracking things possible, with experienced champions from other organizations even speaking about suffering from the dreaded ‘octagon shock’.
While most fighters struggle to produce their best in their UFC debuts, there have been a handful of notable exceptions, with some bursting onto the scene and producing knockouts moments after arriving at the big show.
Sometimes these fighters went onto greatness in the promotion, while others simply faded into the ether. However, their debut knockouts mean that they’ll probably never be completely forgotten.
Here are five debutants who wasted no time in delivering a knockout.
#5. Chidi Njoukani vs. Marc-Andre Barriault – UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Strickland
The most recent entry on this list went down this past weekend at the UFC’s latest Fight Night event. It provided fans with one of the best knockouts thus far in 2022.
When the promotion inked middleweight Chidi Njokuani to a deal, not many fans were all that excited. ‘Chidi Bang Bang’ had been considered a hot prospect at one stage, but that was a long time ago. While the striker had done decently for himself in Bellator MMA, he’d hardly set the world alight.
So when he was matched with the tough Marc-Andre Barriault, a fighter who’d never been finished before, in his octagon debut, it seemed highly likely that a fight lasting the distance would be the most likely result.
However, Njokuani had other ideas entirely. After testing his range with a couple of kicks, he quickly flicked a jab into the face of his Canadian opponent. He then followed with a brutal right haymaker that sent him crashing to the ground.
That's a baaaaaaad man 😳
@ChidiBangNjoku | #UFCVegas47 https://t.co/x20BBN69fp
Moments later, the fight was over, as Njokuani pounced and hammered ‘Power Bar’ with punches that forced referee Herb Dean to step in.
The whole fight took just 16 seconds, as it appeared the debutant was moving on a totally different time plane than his more octagon-tested opponent. If Njokuani had felt any nerves coming into the bout at all, he certainly didn’t show them.