Luke Riley had no excuses for a bad first round but he delivered a jaw-dropping finish in the second after brutally knocking out Bogdan Grad at UFC Qatar.
A longtime friend and teammate to UFC star Paddy Pimblett, Riley had a lot of hype surrounding him on Saturday but he slow out of the gate with Grad largely controlling him early. That all changed when Riley set up a perfectly timed counter left hook that flattened Grad early in the second round.
As soon as Grad hit the ground, Riley just started unloading punches until the scored the knockout blow just 30 seconds into the second round. It was a devastating finish and quite the welcome to the UFC for Riley.
“What the f*ck was that first round? That was f*cking shite,” Riley said about his performance. “I’m my own worst critic. I’m an emotionless stone cold killer in here. Line them up, I’m taking them all out. I’ll be back soon, staying f*cking ready for anyone.”
Grad showed no fear coming after Riley early, scoring takedowns and really putting him on his backfoot as he tried to shake off those notorious octagon jitters.
Between rounds, Riley’s coaches got him ready to bounce back and he came out firing in the second.
As he stepped into the pocket, Riley unleashed the left hook that twisted Grad’s entire body around before he flopped to the canvas. Grad survived momentarily but Riley didn’t stop throwing punches until his opponent was knocked out cold.
It was an impressive showing for the UFC rookie as Riley moved to 12-0 overall in his career and he’ll look to follow in Pimblett’s footsteps with hopes to prove he’s a threat in the featherweight division.
