UFC 222 results: Alexander Hernandez KOs Beneil Dariush in big way – after sneaky opening

Alexander Hernandez will no doubt get a few questions about his opening few seconds against Beneil Dariush.

But if Hernandez’s opening front kick to the body after faking a glove touch was a little bit dirty, the left hand he used to knock Dariush out was much, much dirtier – in a good way. Hernandez (9-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) knocked out Dariush (14-5-1 MMA, 8-4-1 UFC) for the finish just 42 seconds into the fight.

Hernandez took the fight on less than three weeks’ notice as a replacement for Bobby Green, and Dariush was one of the biggest favorites on the card at around -450. But Hernandez made a statement in his debut.

The lightweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC 222 event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It aired on FS1 following additional prelims on UFC Fight Pass and ahead of a main card on pay-per-view.

Hernandez rushed across the cage with his hand out to indicage touching gloves – but then did Dariush dirty with a front kick to the body. Dariush seemed more than just a little annoyed with the tactic, but after a few moments of feeling each other out more properly, things escalated quickly.

Hernandez threw a perfect left hand and landed flush. Dariush dropped to the canvas, and Hernandez went down with him. A few short left hands on the ground weren’t necessary since Dariush almost certainly was out cold, but things happened so fast it took a moment for Hernandez to get pulled off.

“I take any opportunity I can get, and I’m going to capitalize on it,” Hernandez said. “We came here to make a violent impact in this organization, and that’s exactly what we did. I’m here to cement a legacy that’s far, far bigger than mine. I’m putting my team and everyone who’s ever invested in me on my back.

“The number doesn’t matter. The rank doesn’t matter. We’ve been here for a long, long time. We’ve been training among the elite – we’ve been training better than the elite, and I’ve envisioned this moment for too long. We didn’t make it just to get in the UFC. I’m dreaming about the belt, climbing to the top, and this is just another stepping stone like everybody else in the game. You didn’t know me then, but I promise you know me now.”

Hernandez won for the seventh straight time. Dariush is winless in his past three fights after a knockout loss to Edson Barboza and a draw with Evan Dunham.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 222 results include:

• Alexander Hernandez def. Beneil Dariush via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 0:42
• John Dodson def. Pedro Munhoz via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
• C.B. Dollaway def. Hector Lombard via disqualification (late punches) – Round 1, 5:00
• Zak Ottow def. Mike Pyle via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:34
• Cody Stamann def. Bryan Caraway via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Jordan Johnson def. Adam Milstead via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)

For complete coverage of UFC 222, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan and Ken Hathaway contributed to this report on site in Las Vegas.)