UFC Fight Night 37 results: Luke Barnatt batters Mats Nilsson in TKO win

LONDON – Luke Barnatt‘s height and reach were simply too much for newcomer Mats Nilsson.

Barnatt battered the grappling specialist from distance to earn a TKO victory late in the first round for his third straight UFC win.

The middleweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC Fight Night 37 event at O2 Arena in London. It streamed on UFC Fight Pass.

Barnatt, a British veteran of “The Ultimate Fighter 17,” went to work early with a jab that repeatedly stung Nilsson, a Swedish judo black belt, and kept him from getting inside. Mixing in combinations of straight rights and uppercuts, Nilsson began to wear the damage from the attacks as his face reddened.

Midway through the round, Nilsson charged and found Barnatt with several heavy overhand punches, but they weren’t enough to change the fight’s direction.

Late in the frame, Barnatt began to use his legs, and he rocked Nilsson with a crafty superman punch and left high kick. Nilsson wobbled back to the cage, where Barnatt poured on punches and sent his opponent to the canvas with a well-timed knee.

The official time of stoppage came at the 4:23 mark of the opening frame.

Barnatt (8-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) remains undefeated since his turn on “TUF 17? while Nilsson (11-3-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) sees a two-fight winning streak snapped.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 37 results include:

• Luke Barnatt def. Mats Nilsson via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:24
• Claudio Henrique da Silva def. Brad Scott via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Igor Araujo def. Danny Mitchell via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Louis Gaudinot def. Phil Harris via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 1:13

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 37, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

Matt Erickson contributed to this report on-site in London.