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

Home> MMA> UFC> UFC News

Published 11:46 5 May 2024 GMT+1

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

Dana White hailed one of the stars at UFC 301.

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar

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.

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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.

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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.

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"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."

Featured Image Credit: Dana White/UFC

Topics: UFC, Dana White

Nasir Jabbar
Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar is a journalist at SPORTbible. He graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA in Media Communications. He's a combat sport aficionado and has contributed to MMA websites AddictedMMA and CagePotato. Nasir has covered some of the biggest fights, while interviewing the likes of Conor McGregor, Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Darren Till. He's also an avid Bristol City fan.

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@NasJabbar

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