Gabriel Benitez scored a brutal body shot finish of Justin Jaynes at UFC on ESPN 19, but he didn’t use his hands to do it.
In his lightweight matchup with Jaynes (16-6 MMA, 1-2 UFC) on Saturday at UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Benitez (22-8 MMA, 6-4 UFC) used a perfectly timed knee to catch his opponent straight to the body and flatten him right away.
Once Jaynes went down from the strike, Benitez landed a flurry of ground strikes and got the TKO at the 4:06 mark of Round 1.
Check out the replay of the finish below (via Twitter):
A KNEE TO THE CHEST 😳
That is it! @Moggly_Benitez times an INSANE finish to close the show.
[ Action continues on #ESPNPlus & ESPN2 ] pic.twitter.com/xqAL88pmqU
— UFC (@ufc) December 6, 2020
After the win, Benitez explained that it was an emotional performance for him. The Mexican fighter said it was his first contest since the death of his boxing coach.
“I knew it was my night, but I felt sad because it was my first fight since my boxing coach passed away, and I missed him,” Benitez said during his post-fight interview with Jon Anik. “If he was here with me, this guy wouldn’t touch me. I’m happy with this win.”
Up to the minute UFC on ESPN 19 results:
- Gabriel Benitez def. Justin Jaynes via TKO (knee, punches) – Round 1, 4:06
- Roman Dolidze def. John Allan via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
- Jordan Leavitt def. Matt Wiman via knockout (slam) – Round 1, 0:22
- Louis Smolka def. Jose Quinonez via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:15
- Ilia Topuria def. Damon Jackson via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 2:38
- Jake Collier def. Gian Villante via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
