Navajo Stirling has arrived.
The undefeated light heavyweight contender made a major statement in Saturday’s UFC Belgrade co-main event, scoring a first-round knockout over former UFC champion and current top 10 contender Jan Blachowicz. Stirling entered Belgrade Arena as a significant favorite, but still had a tall hill to climb given that Blachowicz represented a considerable step up in competition for the New Zealand prospect.
However, Stirling made it look easy, needing less than three minutes
to hurt Blachowicz on the feet and finish him with heavy ground-and-pound. Stirling looks like the real deal at 205 pounds, though his title hopes are complicated by the UFC light heavyweight title currently being around the waist of City Kickboxing teammate Carlos Ulberg.
Pros were wowed by Stirling’s win and no matter who he faces next, he does so as a legitimate threat to win the gold.
“Dang, Stirling just cemented himself as a contender,” former UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad wrote on Twitter.
See more social media reactions from the pros below.
