For a few moments Saturday, it looked like [autotag]Tom Nolan[/autotag] the prospect might be trending toward Tom Nolan the bust.
Then he turned the tables so quickly that [autotag]Victor Martinez[/autotag] 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.