Team Diaz got out to a rough start at UFC 266 with a lightning-quick knockout defeat.
Martin Sano (4-3-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC), who UFC president Dana White said was signed to the organization at the request of Nick Diaz, suffered a 15-second knockout loss to Matthew Semelsberger (9-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) in their preliminary-card welterweight bout, which took place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Semelsberger was a big betting favorite coming into the fight. He showed why as he went right after Sano and clipped him with a big punch early on that sent the octagon newcomer crashing to the canvas in devastating fashion.
Check out the replay below (via Twitter):
One punch is all @SemiTheJedi needed 👊
[ #UFC266 | Early Prelims Live on @ESPNPlus & @UFCFightPass ] pic.twitter.com/wWeSUZ0HTs
— UFC (@ufc) September 25, 2021
There was a lot of skepticism about Sano joining the UFC roster after not having fought since February 2017 and going winless in his past three fights.
UFC commentator Paul Felder echoed the sentiment of many in the aftermath of the finish.
“No disrespect,” Felder said on the UFC 266 broadcast. “But you probably shouldn’t be here right now.”
Semelsberger, meanwhile, now has a 15-second finish on his record to go along with a 16-second win back in March.
“It felt amazing,” Semelsberger said in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. “I’ll take the quick knockout.
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