Peter Sobotta earned his first knockout in the UFC on Sunday when he brutalized veteran welterweight Ben Saunders to earn the victory on the main card from Sweden.
Sobotta is best known as a submission specialist while training under former UFC fighter Dean Lister, but he came out looking to strike with Saunders from the very start of the fight.
Sobotta landed a big knockdown in the opening round when he cracked Saunders with a crushing hook during one exchange before jumping to the ground where he continued assault.
While Saunders' nosed appeared to be mashed from the shot he absorbed, the American Top Team fighter regained composure and made it to the end of the round.
Unfortunately, things didn't get much better for Saunders in round two as Sobotta just continuously found a home for his strikes until he saw an opening to step forward with a huge knee on the feet.
Sobotta moved forward and launched a right knee strike that absolutely blasted Saunders and sent him crashing to the mat for the second time in the fight. As Sobotta followed him to the mat, the referee saw enough and quickly stepped in to stop the fight before things got worse for Saunders.
The stoppage came at 2:29 into the second round.
Sobotta earns his second straight victory and fourth win in his last five fights since returning to the UFC in 2014.
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