Dana White declares UFC 301 fighter had 'one of the most impressive debuts in history'

Dana White hailed the debut of a UFC star competing at UFC 301, calling it one of the 'best debuts of all-time'.

At UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Alexandre Pantoja successfully defended his UFC flyweight title against Steve Erceg in the main-event while Jose Aldo beat Jonathan Martinez.

Elsewhere on the main-card, Anthony Smith, Michel Pereira and Caio Borralho picked up bigs win.

In the early preliminary card, Mauricio Ruffy made his Octagon debut, having registered a record of 9-1 in Brazil.

And he made a huge impression on UFC boss White, who said Ruffy had one of the 'best debuts of all-time'.

Ruffy showed off his dynamic attack as he performed a stunning scissor sweep before stopping Jamie Mullarkey in the very first round.

He landed a huge knee on the Australian then secured the finish following a series of devastating strikes, bagging a $50,000 'Performance of the Night' bonus in the process.

After the fight, White took to X to sing the praises of the Brazilian lightweight fighter.

He wrote: "This guy is an absolute BEAST! One of the best @ufc debuts of all time time [sic] by Mauricio Ruffy!"

Ruffy has already set his sights on UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev as he issued a message to him in the cage following his sensational showing at UFC 301.

"That’s me and I have a message for Islam Makhachev, a nice message," he said. "Hey (Islam) enjoy your days at the top I know you’re upset because I beat your friend but enjoy your days because a new king is coming."

During the broadcast, Ruffy was compared to a 'young Conor McGregor' by UFC analyst Din Thomas.

Speaking during his post-fight press conference, the 30-year-old welcomed the comparisons with McGregor.

"The guy had a great history in the UFC," he explained. "I try to mirror myself in him. He's a guy who taught everyone how to make money in fights."