DALLAS, TEXAS – JULY 30: Nicolae Negumereanu of Romania celebrates after defeating Ihor Potieria of Ukraine in their light heavyweight bout during UFC 277 at American Airlines Center on July 30, 2022 in Dallas, Texas. Nicolae Negumereanu won via a second round knockout. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
UFC 277 saw Nicolae Negumereanu etch his name as someone to watch with his win over Ihor Potieria.
You know when people say, “he smacked the taste out of someone’s mouth” … we saw the MMA equivalent of that today. Nicolae Negumereanu met Ihor Potieria in just the second fight of the UFC 277 early prelims. A designation usually given to younger guys, up and comers or less notable fighters. Negumereanu will not be on that part of the card ever again.
Negumereanu and Potieria had a ho-hum first round, nothing noteworthy, but round two started off with Potieria landing sniper shots like he was Deadshot. He clipped Negumereanu constantly leading to a wild first half of action in the second round. Negumereanu battled back, however, and started landing a flurry of strikes over the course of a good 30-40 seconds, resulting in Negumereanu knocking Potieria’s mouthguard out of his mouth.
Potieria wasn’t long for the fight after losing his mouthguard, as the referee stepped in about 10 seconds later to wave off the fight. Potieria didn’t fall, but he was as close to being out on your feet as one can be.
Nicolae Negumereanu is one to watch
You’d be fair to wonder what kind of one-punch power Negumereanu truly has, but if he can batter opponents as consistently and constantly as he did to Potieria, then he may be a force to be reckoned with in the UFC’s light heavyweight division.
UFC 277: Julianna Peña vs. Amanda Nunes takes place on Saturday, July 30, 2022, live from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX. Follow along with FanSided MMA for all your news and highlights.
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