What was shaping up to be a chess match between Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Augusto Sakai in the main event of UFC Fight Night ended in an abrupt explosion.
Rozenstruik caught Sakai with a left hook on the chin followed by a right hand to the head, before finishing him off with thudding hammerfists for a buzzer-beating TKO, which came at 4:59 of the first round at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
The victory marked Rozenstruik's 11th career knockout — eight of which have come in the first round. The Surinamese fighter stalked Sakai with his right hand loaded, before detonating a left and then that right to bring an early end to the night.
Rozenstruik relished in his handiwork following the big win.
"I faked him with the right, dropped him with the left and hit him with the right again," Rozenstruik said following the victory.
Rozenstruik, who entered the bout ranked as the No. 6 heavyweight, added words for all those listed ahead of him.
"Everybody that's ranked above me makes sense," he tacked on, addressing who he'd like his next opponent to be. "The Top 5 there. I'm coming for you guys."
Co-main event: Marcin Tybura pounds out Walt Harris
Rozenstruik-Sakai wasn't the only first-round heavyweight finish on the UFC Fight Night main card.
Although Harris came out hot with a spinning back fist and barrage of punches early, Tybura handled the attack enough to score a big takedown.
Once he had Harris' back, Tybura pummeled him with unanswered punches until the ref brought a halt to the action for a first-round TKO.
That's five straight wins for Tybura.