Salahdine Parnasse introduced himself to the UFC world in explosive fashion, stopping veteran Dan Hooker in the first round at UFC Fight Night in Paris on Saturday.
Parnasse, 28, made his UFC debut after spending the majority of his career in Polish mixed martial arts promotion KSW.
Parnasse, of France, landed a body blow on Hooker that hurt the 36-year-old, then pounced on him on the ground forcing the referee to stop the fight at the 2:25 mark.
Hooker came into the fight as the No. 10 ranked fighter in the lightweight division.
On hand to watch the fight was San Antonio Spurs superstar centre Victor Wembanyama, who was excited to see compatriot Parnasse get the stoppage.
Other results from Saturday's bout in Paris include a knockout by Axel Sola of Fares Ziam in the first round of the co-main event, Kurtis Campbell making Trevor Peek tap out with a rear-naked choke in the third round of their featherweight fight and the main card kicking off with another first-round knockout from Losene Keita, taking down Muhammad Naimov.
2:36