Unbeaten heavyweight RJ Harris stepped inside the octagon for the first time on Saturday, with Alvin Hines welcoming him to the promotion as part of UFC Oklahoma City.
Harris had just five fights as a pro, while Hines was 7-1 after dropping his own UFC debut, but in the dangerously shallow heavyweight division, that was enough.
Hines himself had been undefeated prior to his arrival in the UFC, but ran into Jhonata Diniz in his promotion debut, suffering defeat for the first time.
The lone heavyweight fight at UFC Oklahoma City on Saturday started with a lot of leg kicks from Alvine Hines. He was going back and forth to the inside and outside as Harris was maybe calculating damage. Harris then timed a leg kick with a right hand, and soon after dropped Hines with a perfectly timed uppercut. Hines over swung on a right and countered with that uppercut from the hip. Harris jumped on Hines with some extra shots, Hines covering up and trying to survive, until the ref finally stepped in.
An impressive, quick, and violent debut from RJ Harris, who improves to 6-0 as a professional.
Official Result: RJ Harris def. Alvin Hines by TKO (uppercut and ground n’ pound), Round 1, 1:40
