UFC Fight Night 241 video: Tom Nolan rallies from knockdown, finishes Victor Martinez in jaw-dropping turnaround

For a few moments Saturday, it looked like Tom Nolan the prospect might be trending toward Tom Nolan the bust.

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:

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 241 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 241.