Denis wins in UFC debut

Canadian Nick Denis was quick to show what The Ninja of Love was all about.

The bantamweight from Ottawa was successful in his Octagon debut Friday, knocking out Joseph Sandoval with standing elbows to the head at 0:22 of the first round in the first fight of the UFC on FX 1: Guillard vs. Miller show in Nashville.

Denis, who said his debut in the UFC couldn’t have gone any better, admitted afterward that the way he finished the fight wasn’t at all what he was expecting to do.

“I was not training for the clinch or standing elbows,” said Denis, who has been training full-time at Tristar, the home of UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, in Montreal for about a year. “My gameplan was to throw some strikes, but once he thought I was going to stand with him, I would take him down.

“But my punches were landing really hard. Even though he was shelling, he was feeling the power of my strikes. So I kept it going.”

It was a particularly profitable night for the Canuck. He earned the knockout of the night bonus, pocketing him an extra $45,000.

James Brydon is the Managing Digital Editor and blogger for sportsnet.ca's UFC section.