LAS VEGAS – The lone light heavyweight bout on Saturday’s card had an early finish written all over it and delivered on that promise.
Opening the main card of UFC Fight Night 212 at the UFC Apex was Alonzo Menifield taking on Misha Cirkunov, who was returning to the division after a stint at middleweight. The bout aired on ESPN+.
Menifield (13-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) changed camps for this fight and walked out with one man in his corner, former UFC fighter Pat Barry. Always known to carry explosive power, Menifield was able to put the finishing touches on Cirkunov (15-9 MMA, 6-7 UFC) just 1:30 into the opening round.
It was a devastating knockout that left Cirkunov laying on the canvas for a few moments after the referee stepped in to stop Menifield from landing any more punches.
Check out video from the aftermath of the knockout below (via Twitter):
"ATOMIC" MENIFIELD LIVED UP TO HIS NAME 💥#UFCVEGAS62 pic.twitter.com/jwrkZu9UWM
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 15, 2022
With the win, Menifield makes it two in a row, entering on the heels of a first-round finish of Askar Mozharov in June. The hard-hitting light heavyweight now has 6 wins under the UFC banner, only one of which made it to the judges’ scorecards.
On the other side, Cirkunov has dropped four straight bouts. His two previous appearances were unsuccessful experiments in the middleweight division.
Up-to-the-minute results of UFC Fight Night 212 include:
- Alonzo Menifield def. Misha Cirkunov via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:28
- Mana Martinez def. Brandon Davis via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Jacob Malkoun def. Nick Maximov via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Joanderson Brito def. Lucas Alexander via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:02
- Piera Rodriguez def. Sam Hughes via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Tatsuro Taira def. CJ Vergara via submission (armbar) – Round 2, 4:19
- Pete Rodriguez def. Mike Jackson via knockout (knee) – Round 1, 1:33
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 212.
