Damian Pinas starches Cesar Almeida with one-punch KO at UFC 329

Damian Pinas flattened Cesar Almeida with a single right hand late in the opening round at UFC 329 on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The Aruban middleweight prospect absorbed early pressure from the veteran kickboxer before landing a perfectly timed counter right that ended the fight at 4:44 of Round 1. Almeida, a former kickboxing champion across multiple organizations, had controlled the first two minutes with slick movement and setups, according to MMA Fighting. But Pinas stayed patient, hammered Almeida's lead leg, and found the opening when Almeida threw an inside low kick. The straight right landed flush on the chin, per MMA Mania's Andrew Richardson, who described Pinas as having "nuclear" power in his right hand.

Pinas extends first-round finish streak to five

Referee Chris Tognoni hesitated before stepping in, forcing Pinas to throw one additional strike before waving off the contest. Pinas initially attempted a walk-off knockout but had to follow up when Tognoni delayed the stoppage. The finish improved Pinas to 10-1 overall and 2-0 in the UFC, with none of his last five opponents making it out of the first round. His previous octagon win came by knockout over Wesley Schultz.

Almeida drops to 7-3 and suffers his second consecutive loss. The 38-year-old Brazilian had never been finished in his MMA career before Saturday. Richardson noted that outside of one brief wrestling exchange off a caught kick, the bout played out entirely as a kickboxing match in small gloves — a scenario that theoretically favored Almeida's deeper striking resume. Instead, Pinas proved competitive throughout before landing the fight-ending blow.

Pinas now owns six straight victories, all by stoppage. His next middleweight assignment has not been announced.

Reported via:

• MMA Fighting — UFC 329 video: Damian Pinas finishes Cesar Almeida with 1-punch knockout
• MMA Mania — Highlights! Damian Pinas starches Cesar Almeida in incredible one-punch KO| UFC 329