Nursulton Ruziboev turned in a memorable Octagon debut earlier tonight (Sat., July 1, 2023) at UFC Vegas 76 live on ESPN/ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, when the top-flight finisher stopped highly-touted middleweight prospect, Brunno Ferreira, with a vicious knockout just 77 seconds into the first round.
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HIGH STAKES LIGHTWEIGHT MATCHUP! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to UFC APEX on Sat., Sept. 23, 2023, with a high stakes 155-pound showdown as No. 6-ranked contender, Rafael Fiziev, takes on No. 7-seeded Mateusz Gamrot. In UFC Vegas 79’s co-main event, No. 12-ranked Featherweight contender, Bryce Mitchell, steps back into the Octagon against No. 13-seeded Dan Ige.
At 6’5”, Ruziboev is a towering menace even for the 185-pound division. He’s also a dynamite finisher, having stopped 32 out of his 34 professional wins coming into his debut. Ferreira packs one of the hardest punches on the middleweight roster, but this was going to be a tough one.
In just over one minute Ruziboev was able to catch a kick from Ferreira and countered with a stuff right hand. “Hulk” fell to the ground in a heap and Ruziboev followed up with brutal ground-and-pound. The stoppage was imminent. It was brutal.
Check out the final moments above courtesy of UFC/ESPN.
Ruziboev, 29, is now 35-8 as a professional fighter and pushes his current win streak to nine. This was one of the better debuts in recent memory and one that instantly puts “Black” on a short list of rising contenders to watch.
For complete UFC Vegas 76 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.
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