For a few moments Saturday, it looked like Tom Nolan the prospect might be trending toward Tom Nolan the bust.
Then he turned the tables so quickly that Victor Martinez had to be wondering what just happened. Nolan (7-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) shut down Martinez (13-6 MMA, 0-2 UFC) with a first-round TKO, but only after he survived a knockdown and offensive onslaught from Martinez.
Nolan’s finish came at the 3:50 mark of the opening round in a lightweight fight at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas in which he was a 5-1 favorite.
Nolan got up from Martinez’s blitz and hit him with a knee – a knee he apparently predicted he would land in the days leading up to the fight. The knee buckled Martinez, and Nolan quickly pounded him out for the TKO finish.
After a Dana White’s Contender Series win in 83 seconds in August 2023, his UFC debut in January lasted just 63 seconds when Nikolas Motta took him out with a TKO. That, combined with the rough patch just before he turned things around are the fine line between prospect and bust in the sport.
Check out Nolan’s finish:
Tom Nolan gets the job done in the first round 👏 #UFCVegas92 pic.twitter.com/IAPvtJkvTl
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 18, 2024
BIG TRAIN TURNS THE TABLES 🚂
Tom Nolan gets his first UFC victory with a TKO in Round 1! #UFCVegas92 pic.twitter.com/a9yqof7tR2
— UFC (@ufc) May 18, 2024
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 241 results include:
- Tom Nolan def. Victor Martinez via TKO (knee, punches) – Round 1, 3:50
- Oumar Sy def. Tuco Tokkos via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:43
- Melissa Gatto def. Tamires Vidal via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 0:37
- Abus Magomedov def. Warlley Alves via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
- Ariane Carnelossi def. Piera Rodriguez via disqualification (intentional head butt) – Round 2, 3:16
- Heili Alateng def. Kleydson Rodrigues via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Vanessa Demopoulos def. Emily Ducote via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 241.
