Walt Harris scores 12-second knockout at UFC San Antonio
Walt Harris won his second consecutive fight in under a minute Saturday in his UFC co-main event bout against Alexey Oleinik, and in the process he established himself as a contender. The end came at 12 seconds of the first round, the third-fastest finish in UFC heavyweight history.
“It feels amazing man,” Harris told Jon Anik in his post-fight interview.
“I’ve been working my tail off for these moments. I’m just happy. I don’t even know what to say, now.”
The fight’s starting sequences ended up being its ending one as well, and Harris said afterward that it was no accident. As Oleinik bobbed, Harris threw a flying left knee.
The knee strike landed to Oleinik’s body, not his head, but it successfully put him out of position, momentarily. It was all Harris needed to capitalize.
#UFCSanAntonio had nine straight decisions followed by three straight first round KO
What a brutal KO by Walt Harris 😱😱😱😱pic.twitter.com/dv3hmKpaEK— MMA India (@MMAIndiaShow) July 21, 2019
The former collegiate basketball player then switched stances, planted his left leg in the rear, and connected with a straight left cross to the right side of Oleinik’s head, dropping the 42-year-old to the canvas.
“We worked on that for 15 weeks,” Harris explained.
“We knew he liked to dip his head and show he’s changing levels.”
Harris followed up with two strikes onto the felled Oleinik and the referee stopped the fight. Harris is now unbeaten in his last four fights and asked UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard for fights on either the coming cards in Abu Dhabi or in Vancouver.
Beyond that, “The Big Ticket” didn’t seem picky. “It don’t matter who,” he concluded.
“Just send the contract.”
Oleinik’s impressive career mark falls to 57-14-1 with the loss. Harris’ record improves to 14-7.
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