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‘OMG’: UFC star’s KO as spectacular as it gets

Fight fans could barely believe their eyes when they saw a UFC star sent airborne by his rival’s savage blow that quickly ended the bout.

Douglas Silva de Andrade's spectacular KO of Gaetano Pirrello

Douglas Silva de Andrade knocked Gaetano Pirrello clean off his feet with a stunning KO at today’s UFC event in Las Vegas.

The Brazilian landed a savage left hand as Pirrello attempted a leg kick in the first round, sending his rival into the air before tumbling down onto the canvas. Andrade pounced and dropped a couple of more punches but it was clear Pirrello’s day was over and the referee jumped in to call off the fight.

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Andrade celebrated by doing two flips off the top of the Octagon — nearly collecting Pirrello, who lay on the ground being treated by medics, as he stumbled back after the second display of acrobatics.

UFC fans were in awe of the knockout blow and flocked to social media to say as much.

Robbie Glover tweeted: “Woah, that was an incredible KO.”

Fighter Tatiana Suarez wrote: “OMG. I can’t!”

Fellow MMA star Diana Belbita added: “What a BOMB!!”

Combat sports journalist Simon Samano said: “Andrade knocked him off his feet and on his a** — literally. What a visual.”

Thiago Santos earned a hard-fought unanimous decision victory over the enigmatic Johnny Walker.

Walker looked the better in the opening round and landed some nasty kicks on Santos, but as the fight wore on, Santos began to land the better shots.

A left hook from Santos landed flush on Walker’s chin in the fifth round, but Walker ate the shot and coaxed Santos to come further and continue fighting.

The co-main event between Kyle Daukaus and Kevin Holland finished in controversial fashion, with the bout being delcared a no contest.

A clash of heads between the two saw Holland fall forward as he appeared to be knocked out, but Daukaus had no damage done and took advantage of the situation to lock in a submission and force Holland to tap out just past the halfway point in the first round.

However, referee Dan Miragliotta called for a review at the moment the two accidentally bumped heads, and after consulting Herb Dean after the fight, Miragliotta ultimately declared the bout a no contest and overturned the original decision of a submission victory for Daukaus.

There were plenty of other violent finishes on the undercard. Stephanie Edgar scored a second round TKO over Shanna Young while Jamie Mullarkey pulled off an impressive comeback to achieve the same result in his fight against Devonte Smith.

UFC Vegas 38 Results

Main card

Thiago Santos defeated Johnny Walker via unanimous decision (48-47 x 3)

Kyle Daukaus vs Kevin Holland ends in a no contest (R1, 3:43)

Niko Price defeated Alex Oliveira via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)

Krzysztof Jotko defeated Misha Cirkunov via split decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29)

Alexander Hernandez defeated Mike Breeden via KO (R1, 4:20)

Prelims

Jared Gordon defeated Joe Solecki via split decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29)

Casey O’Neill defeated Antonina Shevchenko via TKO (R2, 4:47)

Karol Rosa defeated Bethe Correia via unanimous decision (30-27 x 2, 30-26)

Jamie Mullarkey defeated Devonte Smith via TKO (R2, 2:51)

Douglas Silva de Andrade defeated Gaetano Pirrello via KO (R1, 2:04)

Stephanie Egger defeated Shanna Young via TKO (R2, 2:22)

Alejandro Perez defeated Johnny Eduardo via submission (R2, 4:13)

Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/sport/ufc/omg-ufc-stars-ko-as-spectacular-as-it-gets/news-story/419d03fe076d4e177ca43bfa49020d94