Lewis McGrillen is a name you’re going to hear for decades to come. McGrillen got up and running in his PFL debut in Newcastle and showcased the hype is real by knocking out Salih Kulucan in round one.
McGrillen entered the bout with a truckload of hype hanging over his shoulders. That hype was most definitely warranted, giving his resume up to his PFL debut in Newcastle. Since turning to the professional circuit in 2021, the young Manc has attained 6-straight wins, 6-finishes, and 5 of those coming in the very first round. McGrillen has smartly built his profile over social media platforms like Tik Tok and Instagram, and it showed this evening with the support he had in the crowd.
On the other side of the cage stood Salih Kulucan. Kulucan came into the fight with a record of (6-7). The flyweight fighter broke a four-year lay-off when making the walk at PFL Europe 1. He had attained wins on Bellator in the past and fought on highly established shows such as Cage Warriors, but always failed to pickup any consistently.
Lewis McGrillen Starches Salih Kulucan at PFL Europe 1
McGrillen started the bout as he usually does. He rushed Kulucan from the opening bell, landing a powerful left-body shot that dropped his opponent. McGrilllen finds the shot again later in the round while stalking Kulucan against the fence, shortly afterward finding a home for a head kick. The 23-year-old continues stalking his opponent down, utilizing feints and throwing decoy upper-cuts to throw Kulucan off.
The pressure began to get too much for Kulucan, who was dropped with a heavy punch from McGrillen. In panic mode, Kulucan shoots and successfully gets a takedown on McGrillen, who quickly gets back to his feet and continues putting Kulucan on the backfoot. Hurt, dazed and overwhelmed, Kulucan desperately tries to get the fight to the ground, but McGrillen’s takedown defense holds up.
It seemed it would be a hard task for Kulucan to make it out of the first round, which was correct. The Manc walked forward and landed a huge clean left to the chin of Kulucan, who was sent to the canvas, forcing the referee to intervene.
Watch Lewis McGrillen knockout Salih Kulucan below:
McGrillen soaked up the atmosphere from the crowd while parading the Octagon on his coaches shoulders.
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