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MMA

09th Oct 2016

Rising star Mirsad Bektic sends message to featherweight division with beautiful first round finish

Believe the hype

Ben Kiely

Ranked UFC featherweights beware, undefeated Mirsad Bektic is gunning for you following his impressive victory at UFC 204.

The Bosnian made light work of Russell Doane, who heroically stepped in on five days notice to replace Britain’s Arnold Allen for the PPV main card bout.

Bektic dominated the early exchanges with his grappling prowess. He used his striking to close the distance before taking proceedings down to the mat where got to work smothering the Hawaiian. He controlled the fight with his ground game, biding his time until he saw an opening.

When that time came, he kept his composure and sunk in the rear-naked choke to force the tap at 4:22 of the very first round.

The result saw Bektic improve his professional record to 10-0 with four of those victories coming under the UFC banner. It also marked a successful comeback for the 25-year-old, whose last outing came against Lucas Martins in May 2015. Doane, on the otherhand, is now on a three-fight skid.

During his post-fight interview, Bektic made it clear that he wanted Dana White to sort him out with some “chicken” and that he had his eyes on a ranked opponent for his next trip to the Octagon.

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