Highlights! Ignacio Bahamondes melts Manuel Torres twice for wild knockout finish

Ignacio Bahamondes may have punched his ticket to a top 15 lightweight matchup after smashing dangerous striker, Manuel Torres, with a first-round TKO (punches) earlier tonight (Sat., Sept. 14, 2024) at UFC 306 live on ESPN+ pay-per-view (PPV) from inside Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada.

This was a fight that easily could have been featured on the UFC 306 PPV main card, but fight fans were happy to witness the 155-pound clash on the “Prelims” portion. Torres came into the fight riding a three-fight UFC win streak with all of those victories coming via first-round stoppages. It was up to Bahamondes, who brought a 4-2 UFC record into Saturday night, to spoil Torres’ coming out party.

Torres delivered some nasty and very powerful shots in the early going, but Bahamondes stood in the pocket and welcomed the violence. Bahamondes was definitely the cleaner striker from distance with a longer frame, but Torres was a menace from in close. It was a battle of distance, but Bahamondes was a little quicker on his feet and was able to swiftly exit the pocket on his back foot. That allowed Bahamondes to land a crisp counter right hand that dropped Torres. He eventually got back to his feet, but his chin was tested.

Bahamondes kept his distance again and played matador. As Torres was rushing in to get revenge for the knockdown Bahamondes landed the same counter right hand again. This time, Torres was toast. Bahamondes piled on a few insurance shots before the referee stepped in.

Check out the video highlights below:

LIVE! Watch UFC 306 PPV At The Sphere On ESPN+ Here!

NOCHE UFC AT THE SPHERE! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will stage a once-in-a-lifetime pay-per-view (PPV) extravaganza on Sat., Sept. 14, 2024, to honor Mexican Independence Day during Riyadh Season, an unlikely mashup topped by the Bantamweight main event between reigning champion, Sean O’Malley, and sliced-and-diced No. 1 contender Merab Dvalishvili. In UFC 306’s championship co-headliner, current Flyweight titleholder, Alexa Grasso, will settle her score with fellow Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 32 coach, Valentina Shevchenko, in the final fight of their epic 125-pound trilogy. UFC 306’s PPV main card (see it here) will also feature Brian Ortega vs. Diego Lopes, Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Aoriqileng, and so much more! It’s must-watch action from “Sin City!” UFC 306’s start time is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET (Prelims card) and 10 p.m. ET (PPV main card).