On this day seven years ago, the fastest knockout in flyweight history electrified fans at UFC Mexico.
The promotion was in Mexico City on August 5, 2018, to stage a UFC Fight Night card topped by the nation’s own Brandon Moreno.
The then-future flyweight champion headlined against Sergio Pettis, who would go on to achieve title success under the Bellator banner. That flyweight contest went the distance, with Pettis winning via unanimous decision after five rounds.
The scorecards weren’t required for the other two 125-pound fights, nor was a second round…
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Dustin Ortiz flattened Hector Sandoval in 15 seconds after wild UFC Mexico firefight
The first taste of flyweight action on the undercard of Pettis’ win over Moreno saw Joseph Morales submit Roberto Sanchez with a rear-naked choke just before the four-minute mark of round one. Dustin Ortiz soon one-upped that performance — and every finish in flyweight history when it comes to speed.
Ortiz had experienced an underwhelming stint in the UFC up to that point. A defeat to Moreno in his previous fight left him with a 5-5 record through 10 fights on MMA’s biggest stage. But while he never reached the title at 125 pounds, the Tennessee native did make his way into the history books.
During the UFC Mexico prelims in 2018, Ortiz starched Hector Sandoval in just 15 seconds after the pair engaged in a Max Holloway-esque throwdown.
Holloway knocked Justin Gaethje out at UFC 300 after offering his losing opponent the chance to throw wild bombs for the final seconds. Ortiz and Sandoval, however, did so instantly in their fight.
Unfortunately for Sandoval, he came out on the wrong end of the firefight, resulting in the sole KO loss of his career and seeing Ortiz set a new record for the flyweight division’s fastest KO.
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Dustin Ortiz was still 10 seconds short of the all-time fastest UFC KO
Ortiz’s win surpassed Fredy Serrano’s 44-second victory against Yao Zhikui in 2015. Two others have since beaten Serrano’s result but not Ortiz’s — Jesus Aguilar’s 17-second KO versus Shannon Ross and Henry Cejudo’s title fight against TJ Dillashaw, which saw ‘Triple C’ need just 32 seconds to force a TKO stoppage.
While Ortiz’s efforts in Mexico City set a new divisional record, it was still 10 seconds off what would later become the UFC’s all-time fastest knockout.
That was set the following year when Jorge Masvidal knocked out Ben Askren with an instant flying knee at UFC 239. The official time on that scary finish was just five seconds, resulting in ‘Gamebred’ surpassing the previous record — Duane Ludwig’s six-second win over Jonathan Goulet in 2016.
Ortiz remains the holder of the flyweight record, but his finish on August 5, 2018, does not even crack the top 10 of the fastest knockouts and finishes in UFC history. The most recent entry into that list was Terrance McKinney’s debut against Matt Frevola at UFC 263 in 2021, which saw ‘T. Wrecks’ shut the lights out on his opponent in seven seconds.