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UFC

Francis Ngannou beats Curtis Blaydes after nasty eye injury stops the fight

By Damon Martin FoxSports
Published | Updated
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ORLANDO, FL - DECEMBER 19: Francis Ngannou celebrates his knockout victory over Luis Henrique in their heavyweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at the Amway Center on December 19, 2015 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Francis Ngannou got his second UFC win after a punishing performance that ended after opponent Curtis Blaydes was deemed unable to continue after his right eye swelled shut following the second round.

Ngannou was ultra-impressive in his debut a few months ago and the French heavyweight showcased tremendous takedown defense and a lot of punching power as he moves to 2-0 in the UFC.

At 6-foot-4 with a long reach advantage, Ngannou used a dangerous striking attack through the first few minutes of this fight as he kept Blaydes at distance. Ngannou uncorked several long punches at range, including a straight left that rattled Blaydes midway through the first round.

To his credit, Blaydes kept his balance and locked up Ngannou in the clinch to prevent taking too much damage after that initial shot had him on wobbly legs.

Ngannou's attacks continued to punish the UFC rookie in the second round with several shots connecting on Blaydes and opening a nasty cut over his right eye.

Blaydes was wincing with his eye virtually shut after the damage taken from Ngannou, but he continued to battle despite having no vision on one side of his face.

Blaydes made it to the end of the round, but the doctor quickly came into check on the UFC newcomer after seeing that his eye was an absolute mess courtesy of Ngannou's powerful offense.

Despite protests to allow the fight to continue, the doctor couldn't allow Blaydes to fight with his eye swollen shut and the bout was stopped at the conclusion of the second round.

It's a disappointing end for Blaydes in his debut, but considering he couldn't see from one eye, it was just inviting disaster to happen if the fight continued.

Ngannou gets his second UFC win with another impressive effort as he moves to 2-0 and immediately becomes a fighter to watch at heavyweight in 2016.