A new season of Dana White’s Contender Series got underway Tuesday night, with four athletes leaving the UFC Apex with contracts after the majority of fights ended before judges were required.

Lone’er Kavanagh wasted little time introducing himself to UFC fans. The former world champion kickboxer out of England scored an incredible first-round knockout over An Tuan Ho in the flyweight division.

Kavanagh placed a perfect step-in left hook on the chin of Ho that left UFC president Dana White in awe, jaw agape sitting next to the Octagon.

White said it was “one of the nastiest knockouts we’ve ever seen on the show.”

Ho, who had never previously been knocked out in his combat sports career, was unconscious on the mat for several minutes after being dropped before coming to and being helped to a stool.

Kavanagh, now 7-0 as a pro, is a veteran of the Cage Warriors promotion and trains with the respected Great Britain Top Team. At age 25, he is a high-ceiling prospect in the 125-pound division.

Touted 185-pounder Mansur Abdul-Malik put his undefeated pro record on the line against standout grappler Wes Schultz in the featured bout of the night, and the powerful middleweight managed to improve to 6-0.

Abdul-Malik landed some nasty ground-and-pound strikes, gaining top position after Schultz rushed an armbar submission attempt. Abdul-Malik, 26, was also coming off a ground-and-pound knockout victory in February.

Jose Degaldo pressured Ernie Juarez early and often in featherweight action, and although he took the matchup on less than two weeks’ notice, cardio was not an issue for the 26-year-old MMA Lab product as he pushed the pace throughout. While Juarez’s back was along the fence, Delgado landed a knee flush to the chin and added a handful of follow-up hammer fists for good measure. 

Mikheil Sazhiniani got off to a fast start by attacking Bruno Lopes with low lead leg kicks and throwing haymakers from the hip, knocking down his opponent with a massive overhand right in the opening round of their light-heavyweight bout. Lopes survived the round, and Sazhiniani visibly slowed midway through the second as fatigue set in. Lopes landed a series of body shots that ended things before a third round was required.

Former UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk was in attendance at the UFC Apex cheering on her former teammate, Rami Hamed, who used a kick-heavy style against 42-fight veteran Meng Ding. Hamed won a unanimous decision.

Ding was deducted a point in the final round for repeated low blows and was visibly frustrated with Hamed’s utilization of footwork and distance. The point deduction did not ultimately have an impact on the outcome. Hamed ended up being the lone victorious fighter not to earn a UFC contract Tuesday.

DWCS Season 8, Week 1 Official Results:

— Mansur Abdul-Malik def. Wes Schultz via technical knockout at 3:55 of Round 2

— Rami Hamed def. Meng Ding via unanimous decision (30–26, 29–27, 29–27)

— Bruno Lopes def. Mikheil Sazhiniani via technical knockout at 4:14 of Round 2

— Jose Degaldo def. Ernie Juarez via knockout 1:25 of Round 2

— Lone’er Kavanagh def. An Tuan Ho via knockout at 2:35 of Round 1

UFC contract recipients: Mansur Abdul-Malik, Lone’er Kavanagh, Jose Degaldo, Bruno Lopes