Daniel Cormier says Santiago Luna “exceeded” the high expectations around him in Saturday’s debut at UFC Fight Night 259 against Quang Le.
Luna (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) came out of the gate on fire and showed why he’s a dangerous bantamweight prospect by hurting Le (9-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC) early and often. A series of knockdowns caused the referee to wave it off at the 2:48 mark of Round 1, announcing the Mexican as the winner by knockout.
Check out the replay below (via X):
Luna, 21, is among the youngest active male fighters on the UFC roster. He said this is just the beginning of what he hopes will be a great and entertaining career.
“I said in our interview I was going to knock him out in the first round,” Luna told Cormier in his post-fight interview. “Maybe I got hurt a little bit, but that’s what Mexicans do, right? War.”
Up-to-the-minute Noche UFC results:
- Santiago Luna def. Quang Le via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 2:48
- Dusko Todorovic def. Jose Medina via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:21
- Joaquim Silva def. Claudio Puelles via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Tatiana Suarez def. Amanda Lemos via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Jesus Aguilar def. Luis Gurule via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Sedriques Dumas vs. Zachary Reese declared no contest (accidental low blow to Dumas) – Round 1, 0:51
- Alden Coria def. Alessandro Costa via TKO (injury) – Round 3, 0:47
- Montserrat Rendon def. Alice Pereira via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
- Daniil Donchenko def. Rodrigo Sezinando via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:27
