Justin Gaethje knocks Edson Barboza out in the first round

If you doubted Justin Gaethje’s Octagon abilities even after his return to form against James Vick last August, his first-round knockout of Edson Barboza will have surely changed your mind.

Gaethje suffered two tough losses to take against Eddie Alvarez and then Dustin Poirier during a low four-month stretch. But Gaethje is well and truly back in business.

This match-up looked like it was guaranteed fireworks and it didn’t disappoint.

From the outset, Gaethje marched Barboza down with looping punches and chopping leg kicks, of which the Brazilian was more than happy to reply with the same.

Gaethje clipped Barboza early, causing “Junior” to retreat in an attempt to recover. Arizona native Gaethje fought smarter than he had in those two aforementioned losses, carefully picking his shots before engaging the clinch instead of recklessly trading with a hurt opponent.

Recovered, Barboza looked to have landed a clean hook of his own in an exchange, but this prompted Gaethje to pour on further pressure.

As Barboza tried to circle away from the cage, Gaethje landed a big looping hook which sent him crashing to the canvas. No need for any follow-up shots – the fight was done.

A tremendous showing from Gaethje, who is looking better than ever. It will be very interesting to see who he is paired up with next.

 

Jack Hermansson submits David Branch within a minute

Jack Hermansson came up big in his biggest fight to date.

Taking on former WSOF two-weight champion David Branch, it took Hermansson less than a minute to submit the American.

The Norway-based Swede traded shots with Branch before taking him down with a beautiful sweep, landing in side control.

As Branch rolled and tried to scramble out of the position, Hermansson left in an arm to snatch a tight guillotine.

Seconds later, Hermansson runs off in celebration as Branch is forced to submit.

The former Cage Warriors champion vowed he will add UFC gold to his resume within a year.

Hermansson was unranked in the UFC ahead of tonight, so the middleweight division got a whole lot more interesting in just 49 seconds.

 

UFC Philadelphia: Edson Barboza vs. Justin Gaethje full results

Welterweight: Justin Gaethje defeats Edson Barboza by KO (punch) at 2:30 of round one.
Middleweight: Jack Hermansson defeats David Branch by submission (guillotine choke) at 0:49 of round one.
Featherweight: Josh Emmett defeats Michael Johnson by KO (punch) at 4:14 of round three.
Women’s Strawweight: Michelle Waterson defeats Karolina Kowalkiewicz by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Light Heavyweight: Paul Craig defeats Kennedy Nzechukwu by submission (triangle choke) at 4:20 of round three.
Featherweight: Sodiq Yusuff defeats Sheymon Moraes by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Women’s Strawweight: Marina Rodriguez defeats Jessica Aguilar by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Lightweight: Desmond Green defeats Ross Pearson by TKO at 2:52 of round one.
Featherweight: Kevin Aguilar defeats Enrique Barzola unanimous decision after three rounds.
Middleweight: Kevin Holland defeats Gerald Meerschaert by split decision after three rounds.
Catchweight: Casey Kenney defeats Ray Borg by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Women’s Flyweight: Maryna Moroz defeats Sabina Mazo by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Bantamweight: Alex Perez defeats Mark De La Rosa by unanimous decision after three rounds.