Cage Warriors alum Luke Riley, with Paddy Pimblett in his corner, made his promotional debut at UFC Qatar on Saturday, in a competitive match-up on paper with Bodgan Grad.
Grad opened the featherweight fight with heavy forward pressure, mixing in spinning kicks as he chased Riley along the fence. Less than a minute in, Riley was already forced to defend a takedown. Grad secured a single leg and planted him, clearly having done his homework to force Riley into an uncomfortable grappling battle. Riley managed to buck him off and stand, but Grad kept a tight grip and continued controlling him against the cage.
Riley stayed composed, fighting the wrists to work upright, but Grad smothered him with pressure, giving him no room to breathe. He dropped levels for another takedown and dragged Riley down again, though Riley quickly returned to his feet. Grad reset only briefly before closing the distance and hitting yet another single-leg takedown to close out the round.
Luke Riley entered round two badly needing a momentum shift—and he found it immediately. He cracked Grad with a clean left hook that folded him on the spot. Riley pounced with ground-and-pound, and a final flurry of right hands put Bogdan Grad out cold.
Official Result: Luke Riley def. Bogdan Grad by knockout (left hook and GnP), Round 2, 0:30
