Needing all of a minute to do so, Nicolae Negumereanu defeated Ike Villanueva at UFC Vegas 41 but not without some controversy.
Ike Villanueva had won over UFC fans with what he referred to as his “blue-collar” style, but coming into UFC Vegas 41, “Hurricane” Ike needed a win, having posted just a 1-3 record through four appearances inside the octagon to date. Villanueva previously had all four of his fights end via knockout heading into this one, so it’s no surprise that his fight on Saturday did as well.
On Saturday, the light heavyweight was paired up with Nicolae Negumereanu, with the bout kicking off the main card.
Neguemerenau opened up with a takedown attempt that was quickly stuffed by Villanueva, and Villanueva landed a few shots in the clinch. However, after separating, Negumereanu clipped Villanueva badly with a left hook. Villanueva tried to get him back with some shots of his own but he was sent down to the canvas after another clean shot by Negumereanu. Negumereanu then followed up with some hammer fists and the fight was called off, a seemingly quick and painless first-round knockout for Nicolae Negumereanu.
DON'T BLINK!!! 😳
This one is already over as Negumereanu ends it quick! #UFCVegas41 pic.twitter.com/4hKJtDbSLw
— UFC (@ufc) October 23, 2021
Villanueva quickly protested the result, saying that the fight-ending strikes were to the back of the head. The replay did indeed show that the last few strikes were true to the back of Villanueva’s head; despite this, the commission declined to review the sequence, and gave Negumerenau a quick first-round knockout victory.
Official Result: Nicolae Negumereanu def. Ike Villanueva by TKO, Round 1, 1:18
