Nursulton Ruziboev’s UFC debut couldn’t have gone much better.
The new addition to the middleweight division secured his first win in the promotion at UFC on ESPN 47 with a spectacular first-round finish of Brunno Ferreira (10-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Keeping his first-round finishing streak alive, Ruziboev (35-8-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) only needed 77 seconds to get the job done. While he wasn’t surprised at the fast outcome, he says he was ready to go the distance, if necessary.
“The opponent was shorter than I thought,” Ruziboev told reporters through an interpreter at the post-fight news conference. “I was training for three rounds. These are the punches, these are the kicks that we trained, and I got him. I caught him, and he went down.”
This was Ruziboev’s first fight since last April. He said he has been on standby for a short-notice UFC opportunity, and the call finally came for his debut.
“I thought I was going to be nervous with all of the lights and fans, but I came out there really calm, and thank God I got my victory,” Ruziboev said. “… I thought he was going to be on my level, but I came out, I did the work that I practiced, I did my job, and I got my win.”
Getting wins is old hat for Ruziboev, but the current streak he’s on is incredibly impressive. Since his last setback in December 2019, Ruziboev has won eight straight fights in the first round. After keeping that streak going in his UFC debut, he says he’s ready for anyone, at anytime.
“From now on, if they give me any name, any opponent, I’m ready to come out here and show what I can do.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 47.
