John Makdessi scores first-round TKO at home against Shane Campbell
John Makdessi brought the Canadian crowd to their feet with a violent and quick end to his catchweight affair versus Shane Campbell on Saturday at UFC 186. Makdessi was cut open in the first minute but responded with heavy punches that stunned Campbell.
Makdessi dropped Campbell once with a thunderous punch. Campbell recovered, however, and worked back to his feet and tried to take "The Bull" down.
Makdessi pried the last-minute replacement off of him and landed a short right hook that dropped Campbell again and followed up with big ground strikes.
Campbell could only turtle up, face-down, on the mat and eat shot after shot until the referee stepped in and stopped the fight.
The end came with just seven seconds left in the first round.
"Every fight for me is like life or death," an emotional Makdessi said afterward.
"In my head, I'm fighting a world champion ... I respect him a lot."
Campbell showed heart by fighting a hometown fighter with such power in his hands, but ultimately he goes home with a loss as his record falls to 11-3. Makdessi's record improves to 12-3 as he gets back on the winning track.
