August 07, (THEWILL) – Bryan Battle, the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 29, made his welterweight debut at UFC Vegas 59 by crushing Takashi Sato.
Just 44 seconds after the bell rang, Sato was knocked unconscious with a right head kick from Battle, and 44 seconds later, the TUF champion was celebrating and calling his next move.
Battle won his third UFC fight since leaving the reality series, and he did it by calling out two veterans: Irish superstar Ian Garry and tough-as-nails slugger Bryan Barberena.
The TUF winner confronted the young Irishman, saying to Michael Bisping, “I want all the clout,” and claimed Garry was getting better matchups. He criticised Barberena for defeating his idol Robby Lawler most recently and wrongly criticised Barberena for spelling his first name “Brian.”
Before the fight, Battle made a math error on his return from a $75 reward on a $10 slot machine win, which he saw as a sign of his future success. But in light of his outstanding performance, it was difficult not to forgive him.
