For the third straight fight, a UFC 200 winner was decided by TKO in the first round. Joe Lauzon and Diego Sanchez were expected to put on a war due to their durability, but the bout ended up being all Lauzon.
After coming out and exchanging early, Lauzon caught Sanchez with a shot that sent him reeling back against the cage. He poured it on, cracking the TUF 1 winner with uppercuts and more big punches that seemed to have Sanchez out on his feet. The referee let it continue though, at least for a few seconds.
Sanchez staggered over to his left, and Lauzon lit him up again. That forced the ref to step in, with Sanchez still on his feet but clearly on dream street.
The finish came at the 1:26 mark of the first round.
This was Sanchez’s 24th UFC bout, while Lauzon was stepping into the cage for the 21st time. They had combined for 20 performance bonuses over the course of their careers. Sanchez is coming off a win over Jim Miller in his last fight, while Lauzon lost to Evan Dunham last December. Neither man is currently ranked, but they have both faced top competition in the division (and in Sanchez’s case, other divisions) over the last decade.
You can check out the finish here:
WOW!!!!!! @JoeLauzon is a beast! #UFC200 https://t.co/e6KMtQ8iKt
— #UFC200 (@ufc) July 9, 2016
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