Gregor Gillespie made a memorable return to the Octagon earlier tonight (Sat., May 8, 2021) at UFC Vegas 26 live on ESPN/ESPN+ from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, when the lightweight contender stopped Carlos Diego Ferreira via second-round TKO (punches).
Gillespie hadn’t fought since a knockout loss to Kevin Lee all the way back in Nov. 2019 so it was interesting to see how he would perform. Without missing a beat Gillespie was able to lean on his wrestling and cardio early to control the pace against Ferreira, but Ferreira eventually turned the tides. He started to defend Gillespie’s takedowns and scored some clean shots on the feet towards the end of the first.
Gillespie returned to form in the second and really started to wilt Ferreira on the ground. Ferreira’s corner was screaming for him to return to his feet but Gillespie’s ground-and-pound and transitions were too much to handle. “The Gift” eventually found his finish with a barrage of punches from back control.
Check out the highlights above courtesy of UFC/ESPN.
This was a massive win for Gillespie who acknowledged after the fight that his lengthy layoff caused him to have doubt about his place in the lightweight division. After this TKO finish over a real tough guy in Ferreira it’s safe to say that Gillespie is back where he belongs and on his way to a run at the lightweight top 10.
“I’m about ready to cry, man.”
What a performance by @Gregor_The_Gift #UFCVegas26 pic.twitter.com/69wOPjU7t7
— UFC (@ufc) May 9, 2021
For complete UFC Vegas 26 results and coverage click here.