Derek Brunson made quick work of Dan Kelly as he knocked out the Australian in just over a minute at UFC Auckland.
Brusnon found himself on the losing end of an extremely uneventful bout against Anderson Silva back in February at UFC 208. Although very tentative and often freezing up at times, the consensus was that Brunson had a clear two rounds under his belt, yet ‘The Spider’ walked away with the split decision.
Meanwhile across the other side of the pond, four-time Olympian Dan Kelly made it four wins in a row when he beat Rashad Evans at UFC 209 in March. Now 6-1 in his UFC career, Kelly broke into the middleweight rankings following his latest win, being ranked at fifteenth.
Opening up into the first round, Brunson targeted the wrapped up knee of Kelly straight away, landing a nice inside leg kick.
Following a few brief exchanges, Brunson sent out a double jab then a big left overhand that floored the Australian, and the referee wasted no time in stopping the action after Brunson landed a couple of follow up punches.
In his post-fight interview, Brunson addressed the controversial decision in his previous UFC outing, and also called out his next opponent.
“Ive been cheated in my last fight, sure you guys saw with Anderson Silva” He then went out to call out a fellow Brazilian, in Antonio Carlos Jr.
The win for Brunson snaps a two fight losing streak and now improves his UFC record to 8-3. For Kelly, this is only his second UFC loss and puts an end to his four fight winning streak.
Derek Brunson def. Dan Kelly by KO, Round 1, 1:16
