Chidi Njokuani must be making up for lost time.
The longtime Bellator competitor made his UFC debut Saturday at UFC Vegas 47 against Marc-Andre Barriault (13-5, 1 NC) and he scored a knockout finish just 16 seconds into the first round.
According to the UFC, Njojkuani’s finish is the second-fastest ever by a middleweight in their first UFC fight and the third-fastest finish in UFC middleweight history. Mark Weir holds the UFC record for the fastest finish by a debuting middleweight, which he set when he knocked Eugene Jackson out in 10 seconds at UFC 38 on July 13, 2022.
Watch Njokuani’s quick finish above.
Shortly after the fight started, Njokuani landed a 1-2 punch combination on the button with his right hand sending Barriault crashing to the mat. Several follow-up punches followed and Barriault would not recover, prompting referee Herb Dean to step in for the stoppage.
Njokuani (21-7, 1 NC) began his pro career in 2007 and made a name for himself competing in Bellator’s welterweight and middleweight division before parting ways with the promotion in 2019. He earned a UFC contract on the most recent season of Dana White’s Contender Series. Njokuani has now won three straight fights, all by KO/TKO.
Barriault sees a two-fight win streak snapped and his UFC record fall to 2-4 (1 NC). This is the first loss by finish of his career.
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