Dominick Reyes knocked out Azamat Murzakanov in the first round at UFC 333 on Saturday. The finish came at 2:40, and it started with leg kicks, turned on a head kick and ended with a straight left and some ground-and-pound.
The fight closed out the prelims, and the UFC’s official result account confirmed the KO shortly after. The promotion’s main account followed up by telling ‘The Devastator’ to take a bow. For once the all-caps was earned.
How it went down
Reyes went to the legs right away and kept going there. He hammered Murzakanov’s lead leg early, and when Murzakanov switched to southpaw to get it out of harm’s way, Reyes simply started kicking the other one. Cageside Press compared the attack to “cutting down a damn tree,” which is about right. One of those kicks briefly wobbled Murzakanov.
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Murzakanov tried to answer by charging in. He threw a one-two that hit nothing, then loaded up a big left hook that Reyes read and slid away from. Reyes had spent two minutes training him to worry about his legs. Then he went high.
The head kick rocked Murzakanov, and Reyes jumped on it. A hard left hand put Murzakanov on the canvas, Reyes followed him down with ground strikes, and the referee stepped in. Sherdog’s highlight post described it as Reyes pounding him out, and nobody watching would argue.
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What’s next
Reyes wasted no time picking out a dance partner. According to MiddleEasy, he named Paulo Costa and Khalil Rountree as potential opponents after the win. Neither fight has been booked, and nothing in the post-fight coverage suggests the UFC has signed off on either one. Right now these are names a guy said with his adrenaline still up.
The Cageside Press recap framed the night as Reyes silencing the people who doubted his comeback. A former title challenger in his position needs exactly this kind of win, finished in under three minutes, on a card big enough that people noticed.
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Quick take
I like this version of Reyes. He fought patient and mean, made Murzakanov pay a tax every time he stood in range, and didn’t get greedy until the head kick told him it was time. Of the two names he floated, Rountree is the one I’d book tomorrow. Two light heavyweights who both want to end it standing is matchmaking I can support, and it beats watching anyone wait around for an interim belt. Costa would be a fun circus. Rountree would be a real fight. Give Reyes the real fight.
