UFC on ESPN 5 results: Scott Holtzman wins after doctor stops Dong Hyun Ma with badly damaged eye

Scott Holtzman landed plenty of punches in his fight against Dong Hyun Ma but it was a well-placed right hand in the opening round that ultimately earned him the victory.

An early contender for ‘Fight of the Night’, Holtzman and Dong were blasting away at each other for two straight rounds but it was that stinging straight punch that knocked down the South Korean fighter in the first that caused a massive amount of swelling under his left eye. By the end of the second round, Dong had no more vision out of the eye and the doctors had no choice but to stop the contest to prevent any further damage.

“I knew Dong was going to bring that type of fight,” Holtzman said after the win. “I wanted to throw down. Best job I’ve ever had. I’m going to ice my knuckles up and I’ll be ready to go again.”

Holtzman was very offensive minded as soon as this fight got started as he got in Dong’s face and immediately started unleashing blistering combinations. The Tennessee native nearly earned a finish after he blasted Dong with that powerful right hand that dropped him to the ground.

Holtzman followed up on the canvas, first looking for a ground and pound attack and then seeking a pair of submission attempts. Holtzman couldn’t quite put him away but when Dong went back to his corner, it was clear that his left eye was going to be problematic for him the rest of the fight.

Following up on a strong opening round, Holtzman was aggressively moving forward with his punches but Dong seemed more than ready to return fire this time around. Dong connected with a left hand during a back and forth exchange of punches that dropped Holtzman to his butt for a brief moment.

Quickly back to his feet, Holtzman refused to back down as he continued to swing with knockout power behind every punch. Dong was happy to play that game but unfortunately outside of that quick knockdown, he was unable to do much more damage while Holtzman continued to punish him with punches and elbows targeting that already swollen eye.

Between rounds, the doctor took a good look at the eye and determined that Dong could not safely continue, which forced a stoppage in the fight.

Holtzman is now 4-1 in his past five fights and afterwards he said he’s targeting a showdown against a top 15 opponent when he returns to action.