LAS VEGAS — American Chidi (Chidi Bang Bang) Njokuani kicked off his UFC career with a bang Saturday, knocking out Quebec middleweight Marc-Andre (Powerbar) Barriault in just 16 seconds on a Fight Night card.
Barriault (13-5-0 with one no contest) was caught by a left-right combination and went down at the fence. Njokuani (21-7-0 with one no contest) continued to land blows from above until referee Herb Dean stepped in. It was the second fastest UFC debut finish.
The 32-year-old Barriault, a native of Gatineau. Que., who is now living in south Florida, was giving up six inches in reach. He had won his last two outings.
The 33-year-old Njokuani, a Bellator veteran, earned his UFC contract with a third-round TKO win over Brazil's Mario Filipe de Sousa on "Dana White's Contender Series" in September. He had lost three of his previous five bouts.
He is the younger brother of UFC veteran Anthony (The Assassin) Njokuani, who fought 15 times in total in the UFC and WEC.
Three other Canadian fighters had better nights at the UFC's Apex production facility.
Flyweight Malcom (X) Gordon, featherweight (Mean) Hakeem Dawodu and bantamweight Alexis (Ally-Gator) Davis all posted wins on the card.
The main event pitted Sweden's Jack (The Joker) Hermansson, ranked sixth among middleweight contenders, against No. 7 Sean (Tarzan) Strickland of the U.S.
Dawodu used a busier, more varied attack to earn a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) over American featherweight Michael (The Lone Wolf) Trizano.
Dawodu (13-2-1) and Trizano (9-2-0) exchanged blows in the first round with the busier Canadian leading the way. Dawodu scored with leg kicks.
Trizano got Dawodu's attention with a hard strike in the second round. But Dawodu bounced back, using his speed to land blows and had the upper hand as the round ended.
Trizano came on in the third, taking Dawodu down briefly at the fence. But Dawodu got back up and gave more than he got as he improved to 6-2-0 in the UFC.
Dawodu was coming off a loss by unanimous decision to Russian Movsar Evloev last June that snapped a five-fight win streak. The 30-year-old from Calgary came into that bout ranked 15th among 145-pound contenders but has since dropped out of the rankings.
Trizano is 2-2-0 since winning Season 27 of "The Ultimate Fighter."
Gordon defeated Denys (Psycho) Bondar via technical submission after the Ukrainian flyweight suffered an arm injury in the first round of the card's opening bout.
Gordon (14-5-0) connected with a good punch early but Bondar (16-4-0) took him down, with Gordon looking for a submission from the bottom. As Bondar tried to get up, Gordon flipped him hard to the ground.
A yell of pain came from Bondar, and referee Mark Smith stepped in, stopping the bout at 1:20. Bondar, who was riding a 10-fight win streak into his UFC debut, left on his own steam, cradling his arm.
Gordon, a native of Calgary who now calls Toronto home, evened his UFC record at 2-2-0 with his second straight win.
Davis won a unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 30-27) over Lithuanian bantamweight Julija Stoliarenko.
Davis, a native of Port Colborne, Ont., who now makes her home in San Jose, had success on the ground — able to punish from above while fighting off her opponent's submission attempts.
The bout was stopped with 23 seconds left in the first round after Davis (21-11-0) was caught by an illegal upkick by Stoliarenko (9-6-2). Davis was seen by the doctor before the bout resumed.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5. 2022.
The Canadian Press
