Rinat Fakhretdinov returned to action at UFC Paris on Saturday, in a preliminary card welterweight bout with Andreas Gustafsson.
Fakhretdinov had not been seen in action since a controversial win over Carlos Leal last year, which many, including UFC analyst and former champ Daniel Cormier, felt should have gone the other way.
Gustafsson started out extremely aggressive, crashing in with wild overhand shots. With Gustafsson missing on all of them, Fakhretdinov weathered the early storm and marched forward. One of the toughest competitors in the division wasn’t going to go down that easily. A swift straight left from Fakhretdinov staggered Gustafsson making him retreat. Smelling blood in the water, Fakhretdinov pounced on his opponent unloading against the cage. Shortly after the referee called a stop to the contest at 53 seconds in the first round.
Fakhretdinov moved his unbeaten streak to seven inside the UFC and his overall professional record to 24-1-1. This was a fight that clearly showed that Fakhretdinov is a level above the rest of the unranked welterweights on the roster. Getting a dominant TKO over Andres Gustafsson, who had never been finished previously, should have Fakhretdinov inside the top fifteen rankings next week.
Official Result: Rinat Fakhretdinov def. Andreas Gustafsson by TKO, Round 1, 0:54
