Taiyilake Nueraji met the media Saturday after his win over Kiefer Crosbie at UFC Fight Night 257.
Nueraji (12-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) took out Crosbie (10-6 MMA, 0-3 UFC) with a first-round TKO on the main card in the UFC’s return to China. But it didn’t come without a little controversy at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai.
Nueraji hit Crosbie with an illegal knee that referee Marc Goddard said was bad enough for a two-point deduction. Upon the restart, which Crosbie in retrospect has raised issue with given he didn’t get ample recovery time, Nueraji didn’t need long to put Crosbie back down and put him away.
Afterward, Nueraji said fans can expect many more finishes.
“I have to thank my opponent – he chose to keep fighting,” Nueraji said. “I broke the rules, but he chose to keep fighting. I never thought about going to a decision, so it didn’t matter to me. Either I knock you out or you knock me out, so I wasn’t worried about the point deduction.”
