UFC heavyweight Allen Crowder walked into the cage a hometown favorite. In nine seconds, he had no idea where he was.
Jair Rozenstruik (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) picked up the second-fastest knockout in the division’s history by stopping Crowder (10-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) at the 0:09 mark of the opening frame in their UFC on ESPN+ 12 preliminary-card bout.
“I just did it, and I’m glad,” said Rozenstruik after his stoppage at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C. “They say hard work pays off, and that is all.”
Rozenstruik made it look easy when Crowder walked straight into a jab and took a seat on the mat. When Rozenstruik advanced, Crowder tried to protect himself with his legs. But Rozenstruik’s arms were long enough to get around the limbs, and his first punch knocked out Crowder.
The two punches that followed were just academic while the audience sat in shock.
The nine-second knockout improved on Rozenstruik’s personal best of 10 seconds, which set up his trip to the UFC. In his promotional debut, the heavyweight scored a second-round stoppage of Junior Albini.
Now with a first-round stoppage, Rozenstruik looks like a very serious prospect in the UFC heavyweight division. Crowder drops to 1-2 in the octagon after a disqualification win over Greg Hardy in his previous bout.
The record for the fastest octagon knockout remains intact with a seven-second stoppage for Todd Duffee over Tim Hague at UFC 102.
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