UFC Fight Night 33 results: Justin Scoggins swarms Richie Vaculik, earns first-round TKO

BRISBANE, Australia – UFC newcomer Justin Scoggins, a 21-year-old prospect, kept his career mark perfect with a one-sided finish of former professional surfer Richie Vaculik.

The flyweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC Fight Night 33 event at Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Australia. It aired on FOX Sports 2 following a single prelim on MMAjunkie and ahead of the main card on FOX Sports 1.

Scoggins earned a takedown in the opening minute of the fight and immediately looked to strike from the top. Vaculik worked his back to his feet shortly after but was immediately clipped by a right hand and went crashing back to the canvas. To his credit, Vaculik quickly recovered and again scrambled to his feet, but Scoggins took him to the floor yet again.

Vaculik looked to buck and roll and attack from his back, but Scoggins transitioned smoothly to the back and unleashed a flurry of punches. Vaculik didn’t necessarily look to be in trouble, but he also didn’t respond quickly to referee Steve Perceval’s warnings to move, and the bout was waved off with 17 seconds left in the opening round.

Scoggins (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) was victorious in his UFC debut, even if the Australian crowd wasn’t necessarily supportive of the stoppage.

“I’m feeling great with this win,” Scoggins said after the victory. “I went out there with no real gameplan but let the fight come to me. Training at American Top Team prepares me for all situationsm and I just took the opportunities today. After I let go of the single-leg, I saw the opening for a strike and capitalized on that, took it to the ground and that was the beginning of the end.

“Fighting in Brisbane, Australia was great, but next I’d love to fight in front of my home crowd in Atlanta.”

Vaculik (9-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC), a former cast member on “The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes,” loses in his official UFC debut.

“I never really got going and implement my gameplan,” Vaculik admitted. “Justin surprised me with his grappling. He caught me off-guard. I thought he’d want to strike with me more.”

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 33 results include:

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 33, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

Steven Marrocco contributed to this report on-site in Brisbane.