Heavyweight Cody East’s Octagon debut didn’t exactly go to plan.
East, who was “discovered” by the UFC on the promotion’s reality TV show “Looking For a Fight”, made his debut against Harris (8-4 MMA, 1-3 UFC) on the UFC 197 preliminary card on Saturday night.
Harris ended East’s nine-fight win streak in devastating fashion by flooring him with a seismic left hand and following it up with nasty shots on the ground. The referee allowed East to try to defend himself but after continually eating strike after strike while on his back, the referee decided that enough was enough and ward Harris the TKO victory at the 4:18 mark of the first round.
After the fight, Harris explained that he thought he broke his hand landing that haymaker on his opponent but he didn’t mind proclaiming “pain is temporary and joy is forever.”
