Brady Hiestand pulled off a wild comeback finish earlier tonight (Sat., April 22, 2023) at UFC Vegas 71 live on ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, finishing bantamweight bruiser Danaa Batgerel via third-round TKO (punches).
Hiestand had some good moments early in this fight, but Batgerel’s power and takedown defense steered the action. The Mongolian fighter had created a 2-0 lead on the scorecards entering the third as a bloodied Hiestand desperately needed a finish.
Unlike some fighters who forget their sense of urgency Hiestand kept pushing for offense. He was able to score a takedown along the cage with about a minute left in the third. Batgerel didn’t seem to be defending as Hiestand started to pepper him with short punches. The referee warned Batgerel a few times to defend, but he simply didn’t react. Hiestand’s onslaught eventually forced the stoppage.
Check out the final moments below courtesy of UFC/ESPN:
Brady Hiestand starts off #UFCVegas71 with some major hits pic.twitter.com/gW9IEY9NYe
— ESPN+ (@ESPNPlus) April 22, 2023
Hiestand, 23, is now 2-1 inside of the Octagon since making his debut back in Aug. 2021. The young bantamweight has a pretty well-rounded game, but his bread-and-butter is certainly in the grappling department. If “Bam Bam” can continue to dictate where these fights take place he has the skill set to make a solid run towards the top 15.
For complete UFC Vegas 71 results and coverage click here.