By:  | April 17, 2022 8:24 am

Heili Alateng was winless in his last two fights heading into UFC Vegas 51. The Mongolian bantamweight needed just 47 seconds to get back in the winning column against Kevin Croom scoring a quickfire KO.

A right hand from Alateng did the damage and he immediately went to work on the American:

Spectacular style

Alateng has fought five times for the UFC and this is the first time he has finished an opponent. The Mongolian did it in style with Croom staggering all over the octagon after being separated from his senses by a devastating right hand.

It looked a winnable fight for the Road FC and ONE Championship veteran. Croom had failed to win in any of his three previous UFC bouts.

But no-one could have predicted that Alateng would finish the bout in such spectacular style. Afterwards he admitted to being nervous before the bout but says that as soon as the first right hand landed he knew it was over:

Good preparation

Alateng prepared for this fight at Fight Ready in Arizona alongside the Korean Zombie, who didn’t do so well at UFC 273 last weekend. He says the shot with which he originally staggered Croom was one he had worked on in training.

Alateng was disappointed to draw his last fight but the Mongolian made sure the judges didn’t need to do any work in the opening bout of the evening at UFC Vegas 51. The best way to avoid being disappointed when the scorecards are announced is to put your opponent away and that’s exactly what he did.

A win over Croom probably won’t be enough to earn Alateng a spot in the top 15. But he should be high on the list of candidates for a $50,000 USD performance bonus and the Mongolian will be hoping the UFC sees fit to reward the best performance of his career to date with some extra cash!