T.J. Dillashaw came to the UFC with a wrestler’s resume and reputation, but he’s fast becoming just as dangerous for his standup striking. For the second straight fight, the surging bantamweight used those skills to find a finish, scoring a first-round technical knockout over Hugo Viana at UFC on FOX 7.
Dillashaw closed out the fight at 4:22, after referee John McCarthy pulled him off his Brazilian opponent.
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“Just the timing,” Dillashaw said of the straight right hand that precipitated the finish. “Working with ‘Bang’ [Duane Ludwig] and Master Thong. He’s a wide fighter, so you throw it right down the pipe.”
Dillashaw had a chance earlier in the fight, getting the fight down and taking Viana’s back, but Viana was able to make a quick escape and get it back to the feet.
From there, Dillashaw found his range with straight right hands, including the one that led to TKO. Viana’s eyes rolled back and went down but popped up and tried to backpedal out of trouble, but Dillashaw patiently stalked him with a flurry, and eventually caught him on the chin.
That put Viana on the ground, where Dillashaw finished with ground strikes.
The victory, Dillashaw’s fourth in a row, made the Team Alpha Male fighter 8-1. He handed Viana his first loss, and the Brazilian is now 7-1.