Corey Samuels gave Isaiah Hokit a rude introduction to professional MMA Friday at Bellator 261 with a lightning-quick knockout.
Samuels (3-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) needed just 10 seconds to flatten massive betting favorite Hokit (0-1 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) with punches, tying the record for the fourth fastest knockout in Bellator history in their lightweight bout at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.
Check out the replay of the finish below (via Twitter):
WOW! Corey Samuels 👏
Tune in to the #Bellator261 prelims 👇
▶️ https://t.co/YFLu9qDbr8 pic.twitter.com/GzifXrzJ1E
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) June 25, 2021
Hokit came into Bellator 261 with some hype behind him due to his amateur wrestling background. He didn’t get to showcase any of his grappling game, though. Samuels knocked him out before he could even get going.
For Samuels, it was the first win of his career stemming from strikes. He said he was prepared for Hokit’s wrestling, but was confident he could find the finish before it hit the ground.
“I knew I had the better striking, but we tried to prepare more so for wrestling,” Samuels said in his post-fight interview with John McCarthy. “I wanted to end it with a head kick, but my shin is a little messed up. So we decided to box him up, and that’s what happened.”
