If Kurt Holobaugh’s aim was to make a statement, consider the deed done.
The onetime Titan Fighting Championships titleholder blasted through Matt Bessette with first-round punches in the Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series 1 featherweight headliner at the UFC Training Center in Las Vegas. Bessette (22-8) bowed out 2:58 into Round 1, his run of seven consecutive victories at an end.
Holobaugh (18-4) pressed his interests from the start. The 30-year-old kept Bessette on his back foot with sweeping power punches, crisp counters and a punishing jab. An overhand right from Holobaugh staggered the CES MMA champion and set the stage for the finish.