After showing scary knockout power to earn a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series, Mario Pinto displayed heavy hands again Saturday at UFC Fight Night 253.
Pinto (10-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) won his promotional debut by second-round knockout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas when he floored Austen Lane with a vicious right hook that instantly put the lights out.
It was a brutal finish, and you can watch the replay below (via X):
MARIO PINTO ENDS IT WITH THE 1-2 👊 #UFCVegas103 pic.twitter.com/EN0dsn8yrm
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) March 1, 2025
Lane (13-6 MMA, 1-3 UFC) spent some time down on the canvas before eventually returning to the stool and leaving the octagon under his own power. Pinto, meanwhile, celebrated a triumphant debut to keep his undefeated record intact.
“I definitely had the (UFC) jitters,” Pinto said in his post-fight interview with Jon Anik. “When it’s your first time and you’re scared and I was a bit nervous. But I got the W. He’s a big, 6-foot-