Jon Jones’ protege Gable Steveson scores epic first-round KO on UFC debut

Gable Steveson kicked off his UFC career with a quick knockout victory in Las Vegas on Saturday.

The 26-year-old Olympic gold medallist heavyweight, who has had UFC legend Jon Jones by his side throughout his meteoric rise to MMA’s summit, stopped Elisha Ellison emphatically in the first round.

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Steveson was making his debut for Dana White’s promotion on the grandest stage of them all at UFC 329, with Conor McGregor‘s return against Max Holloway headlining the International Fight Week card.

The American dropped Ellison with two nasty knees and a barrage of blows midway through the opening five minutes and followed up with a thunderous left hand on the ground to get the job done.

Steveson scores epic KO on UFC debut

Both men had landed clean blows in an electric opening start to the preliminary fight at UFC 329.

Steveson was finding the target with his left hand, but Ellison, who was a massive underdog heading into the clash, responded brilliantly, stumbling his opponent with some well-timed elbows.

Referee Marc Goddard then briefly halted proceedings when Steveson caught Ellison on the groin with a kick.

Goddard claimed he heard Steveson connect with Ellison’s cup, but replays made it seem like his strike was perfectly fine.

Nevertheless, Ellison took as much time as he needed and the fight got back underway.

But momentum was still very much in Steveson’s favour after the time-out, and he came out swinging.

A knee followed by a strong left hand had hurt Ellison before Steveson, who was heavily damaging his opponent with his sharp front kick, backed his opponent up to the cage.

A huge right hand against the fence then marked the beginning of the end, as another left hook followed by several more blows sent Ellison crashing to the canvas.

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Goddard had already decided he’d seen enough.

However, Steveson managed to sneak in another brutal left hand before he was pulled off Ellison, earning his first UFC win.

“It’s an honour to be here,” Steveson, who is now 4-0 with all of his finishes coming in the first round, told Joe Rogan after his win.

“It’s fun. It’s a big stage. Like I said, I’m honoured. Time will tell [where I stand in the heavyweight division].”

Elsewhere on the early bouts at UFC 329, both Ryan Gandra and Damian Pinas picked up statement victories on the preliminary card with first-round knockouts.

Meanwhile, Alessandro Costa, Farid Basharat and Wang Cong also secured wins.

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More UFC 329 results

• Adrian Yanez def. Cody Garbrandt via first-round KO
• Luke Riley def. Kai Kamaka III via first-round KO

Early prelims

• Wang Cong def. Tracey Cortez via unanimous decision
• Damian Pinas def. Cesar Almeida via first-round KO
• Farid Basharat def. John Garza via unanimous decision
• Ryan Gandra def. Zach Reese via first-round KO
• Alessandro Costa def. Cody Durden via second-round submission (rear naked choke)

Paddy Pimblett’s teammate Luke Riley then extended his undefeated professional MMA record to 14-0 by knocking out Kai Kamaka III in the opening round of their featherweight clash before Adrian Yanez flattened former champion Cody Garbrandt in round one.