"Grad opened the featherweight fight with heavy forward pressure, mixing in spinning kicks as he chased Riley along the fence. Less than a minute in, Riley was already forced to defend a takedown. Grad secured a single leg and planted him, clearly having done his homework to force Riley into an uncomfortable grappling battle. Riley managed to buck him off and stand, but Grad kept a tight grip and continued controlling him against the cage."
"Riley stayed composed, fighting the wrists to work upright, but Grad smothered him with pressure, giving him no room to breathe. He dropped levels for another takedown and dragged Riley down again, though Riley quickly returned to his feet. Grad reset only briefly before closing the distance and hitting yet another single-leg takedown to close out the round. Luke Riley entered round two badly needing a momentum shift-and he found it immediately."
"Luke Riley entered round two badly needing a momentum shift-and he found it immediately. He cracked Grad with a clean left hook that folded him on the spot. Riley pounced with ground-and-pound, and a final flurry of right hands put Bogdan Grad out cold. Official Result: Luke Riley def. Bogdan Grad by knockout (left hook and GnP), Round 2, 0:30"
Luke Riley, with Paddy Pimblett in his corner, made his UFC promotional debut against Bogdan Grad at UFC Qatar. Grad opened with heavy forward pressure, mixing spinning kicks and repeatedly securing single-leg takedowns to control Riley against the cage. Riley fought the wrists, repeatedly returned to his feet, and weathered the grappling-heavy first round despite limited space. Early in round two Riley landed a clean left hook that immediately dropped Grad. Riley followed with ground-and-pound and a final flurry of right hands that rendered Grad unconscious. The official result was Riley defeating Grad by knockout (left hook and GnP) at 0:30 of round two.
Read at Cageside Press
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