UFC 218 results: Justin Willis levels Allen Crowder for first-round knockout

Justin Willis made short work of Allen Crowder with his left hook, battering the UFC newcomer until a shot finished him off in the first round.

Crowder (7-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) spilled to the canvas at the 2:33 mark of the opening frame, bringing Willis (6-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) his first knockout win in the octagon.

The heavyweight bout opened up the preliminary card of today’s UFC 218 event at the new Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit. It streamed on UFC Fight Pass ahead of additional prelims on FS1 and a main card on pay-per-view.

Crowder hoped to take away Willis’ power base with leg kicks, but Willis repeatedly caught his legs and repaid the effort with quick combinations. Just one minute in, Crowder’s face was reddened from the counters.

Willis slowly closed in when he discovered Crowder’s punches were not a significant threat. Then he threw a left hook off an exchange, and Crowder backpedaled to the cage, obviously hurt.

Crowder tried to cover up, but Willis caught him flush with a left hook, and the fight was quickly called off with the concussive shot.

Willis now owns a two-fight UFC winning streak and hasn’t seen defeat in six fights, while Crowder, a veteran of “Dana White’s Contender Series,” sees a four-fight streak snapped.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 218 results include:

• Justin Willis def. Allen Crowder via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 2:33

For complete coverage of UFC 218, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s Matt Erickson and Mike Bohn contributed to this report on site in Detroit.)