Ignacio Bahamondes may have punched his ticket to a top 15 lightweight matchup after smashing dangerous striker, Manuel Torres, with a first-round TKO (punches) earlier tonight (Sat., Sept. 14, 2024) at UFC 306 live on ESPN+ pay-per-view (PPV) from inside Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada.
This was a fight that easily could have been featured on the UFC 306 PPV main card, but fight fans were happy to witness the 155-pound clash on the “Prelims” portion. Torres came into the fight riding a three-fight UFC win streak with all of those victories coming via first-round stoppages. It was up to Bahamondes, who brought a 4-2 UFC record into Saturday night, to spoil Torres’ coming out party.
Torres delivered some nasty and very powerful shots in the early going, but Bahamondes stood in the pocket and welcomed the violence. Bahamondes was definitely the cleaner striker from distance with a longer frame, but Torres was a menace from in close. It was a battle of distance, but Bahamondes was a little quicker on his feet and was able to swiftly exit the pocket on his back foot. That allowed Bahamondes to land a crisp counter right hand that dropped Torres. He eventually got back to his feet, but his chin was tested.
Bahamondes kept his distance again and played matador. As Torres was rushing in to get revenge for the knockdown Bahamondes landed the same counter right hand again. This time, Torres was toast. Bahamondes piled on a few insurance shots before the referee stepped in.
Check out the video highlights below:
BAHAMONDES WITH ANOTHER HIGHLIGHT KO #NocheUFC pic.twitter.com/4lXYcRj1wz
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 15, 2024
For complete UFC 306 results, coverage, and highlights, click HERE.