UFC 332 shatters record for most knockouts ever with SEVEN straight first round finishes

UFC 332 in Salt Lake City defied all expectations and set a new record with 11 total knockouts, including nine in the first round.

When the UFC announced their card for their next event in Salt Lake City, Utah, it's safe to say fans were quite disappointed, with some labelling it one of the worst numbered cards in the UFC's history.

However, when the show ended in the early hours of Sunday morning, the fighters competing at UFC 332 had well and truly silenced the doubters as the evening saw a record 11 knockouts, with seven in a row happening in the first round.

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UFC 332 makes history with dramatic fight card featuring ELEVEN knockouts

The fight card in Salt Lake City started off immediately with a bang as welterweight Eric Nolan secured a knockout finish over Court McGee late in the third and final round.

Next up Ismail Naurdiev secured one of very few decisions on the card as he beat former middleweight title contender Marvin Vettori, with the remainder of the preliminary card all finishing via knockout.

Alexander Hernandez got a second round knockout victory over ex-lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos in the next bout, seemingly leading to the UFC veteran suggesting that he would now be retiring aged 41.

And it is then that the drama really started as Jacobe Smith stopped newcomer Bruce Whitehead in 92 seconds to start off thrilling stretch of seven consecutive first round knockouts.

England's Mick Parkin fell foul of the next knockout finish due to a brutal knee from Johnny Walker on his heavyweight debut.

Former NFL star Anthony Wint then kept the run going with 23-second knockout over Lucas Armand with Macus McGhee also getting it done in the final seconds of first round against late replacement Anthony Romero.

Damian Pinas made it five in a row after breaking Andrey Pulyaev's jaw in the opening round while Imanol Rodriguez rounded out the prelims with a rare body shot that Alden Coria couldn't recover from.

In another disappointing result for British MMA fans, Manchester Top Team's Ateba Gautier fell short in the biggest fight of his career as Roman Kopylov got the upset victory with a first round finish over the highly-rated middleweight prospect.

Unfortunately, when Roberto Soldic's had his hand raised after beating Khaos Williams, the streak officially ended as the Croatian did so via unanimous decision.

But it wasn't long until the action fired up once again as both Esteban Ribovics and Payton Talbott picked up first-round knockouts over King Green and former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo respectively.

Those knockouts took the total for the night to 11 overall, with nine happening in the opening round.

In the main event of the evening, Natalia Silva became the new women's flyweight champions with a unanimous decision victory over Wang Cong.

After an evening that UFC legend Daniel Cormier labelled one of the best in the organisation's history, it therefore comes as no surprise that UFC boss Dana White had plenty to say to the haters post-fight.

"In 25 years, when has the card not lived up?" White said.

"If you had to really dig deep and scrutinise our card, there's probably been four or five in 25 years that you go, 'That sucked.'

"The only one that really stands out is UFC 33, which almost bankrupted the business — I'll never forget that as long as I live.

"Here's the problem: the so-called experts in the sport don't know anything about fighting...

“Here’s the reality in this sport. We do like 44 cards a year, and then we have The Contender Series and all the other things that we do.

"So not every card is going to be for you. Not every card is going to go, ‘Oh, wow, this is the one I have to see.’

"Who gives a s***. There might be 43 more you might feel that way about. Or 42 or 40."

He continued: "We are the best at what we do. There’s no denying it.

"Lots of people with lots of money who have done really good things in life have tried to get into this business and can’t.

"They don’t know what to do. We’re the best. And all the so-called experts have no f***ing clue about the fight business.'"

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Dana White slams Herb Dean for controversial King Green stoppage

But that's not all that White had to say after the event, as the UFC President and CEO also addressed Ribovics' knockout win over Green on the main card, which has come under scrutiny on social media.

Ribovics, who missed weight ahead of the fight, had Green on the canvas three times in the opening round before referee Herb Dean decided he had seen enough and waved the fight off.

But, despite this, White appears to agree with fans thinking that Dean may have acted prematurely.

"Herb's having a rough f***ing year," White stated in the post-fight press conference.

Meanwhile Green released a statement online admitting he was also annoyed at Dean's decision, saying: "I'm a little mad. I told Herb, 'this is gonna get sticky, let me go on my shield'. I was still fine. I wanted to keep fighting."

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