UFC debuts don’t come better than Tallison Teixeira’s at UFC 312. ‘Xicao’ finished his opponent, feared heavyweight knockout artist Justin Tafa, in 35 seconds.
Teixeira and Tafa faced off in one of the feature fights on the UFC 312 main card. Fans expected fireworks as both men had a 100-percent finish rate, which held up as the fight ended explosively. After landing a crushing head kick on Tafa, Teixeira stormed into range and pinned his foe against the cage.
From here, the 6’7″ Brazilian giant launched savage knees into Tafa’s gut before uncorking a monstrous elbow that crumbled the Kiwi. Tafa cowered away from Teixeira’s onslaught of ground and pound, and the fight was waved off.
Tallison Teixeira flattened Justin Tafa’s nose with savage elbow at UFC 312
Despite curling into the fetal position after the strike, Tafa contested the stoppage with the referee. A slow-motion replay of the finish showed Tafa’s nose flattened by the massive strike.
With his victory, Teixeira moved to 8-0, with seven knockouts and one submission all coming in the first round. He impressed in his debut on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2024, where he knocked out Arthur Lopes in a similarly dominant fashion with a nasty right hand.
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