Brunno Ferreira is living up to his nickname as “The Hulk” after he smashed another opponent in the first round at UFC Louisville on Saturday night.
This time around it was Dustin Stoltzfus, who was actually giving the Brazilian a good fight right up until the moment he got caught with a spinning back elbow in an exchange that left him rattled. Once he had Stoltzfus hurt, Ferreira just went all gas, no brakes as he unleashed a barrage of strikes trying to get the finish.
As the fighters continued trading bombs, Ferreira unleashed another spinning back elbow and this one landed clean as Stoltzfus dropped to the canvas, and referee Jason Herzog saw enough to stop the fight. The end came at 4:51 in the opening round.
Following his latest win, Ferreira celebrated his handiwork and then called out one of the hottest prospects in the sport.
“Thank you guys, Hulk smash!” Ferreira shouted. “You’re going to see that video many times. I trained that a lot. I knew that he was loading his punches and I knew that was going to land because I was training that a lot. Once again, I think this deserves a bonus.
“I want to propose a challenge, judo vs. wrestling, come on Bo Nickal.”
It remains to be seen if the ambitious callout will get an answer from the multi-time NCAA wrestling champion but Ferreira definitely put the entire middleweight division on notice with his latest performance.
Prior to the knockout, Ferreira did have to battle through some adversity after Stoltzfus actually looked for kneebar submission during a scramble on the ground. Ferreira got out of the bad spot and returned to his feet where he continued to deliver vicious power behind every strike.
The initial spinning back elbow clubbed Stoltzfus on top of the head, which left him wobbly, but he was still able to return fire. The second spinning back elbow left no doubt after Ferreira connected directly on the face and Stoltzfus went crashing down to the canvas.
The win moves Ferreira to 3-1 overall in the UFC with three knockouts as he continues to earn his spot on the main card by always delivering a memorable performance.
