Justin Gaethje Knocks Out James Vick, Other Big Fights At UFC Lincoln

No three-fight losing streak for Justin Gaethje — he’ll remain in the UFC’s top 10 after his UFC Lincoln performance.

The former World Series of Fighting Champion Gaethje (#7) slept his #10 opponent, the surging James Vick. After just 87 seconds, Gaethje connected with an overhand right that put the much bigger Vick down.

You can see an excerpt from our live coverage below.

Round One: The round begins with Vick attacking Gaethje with a few kicks, Vick nails Gaethje with a front kick to the midsection. Vick keeps Gaethje at a distance by attacking him with a plethora of kicks, Gaethje destroys Vick with a right hook and Vick goes out cold.

Official Result: #7 Justin Gaethje def. #10 James Vick by KO via punch (1:27, R1)

“I’ll take Tony Ferguson next. That’s for damn sure,” Gaethje said, calling out UFC Lightweight Champion-who-never-lost-his-title Tony Ferguson, who looks to be another prime name atop the division. “Hey, I heard you wanted to fight me!? I’ll take Tony,” Gaethje also joked to interviewer/fighter Paul Felder.

Gaethje ended up taking home $50,000 for “Performance of the Night” honors for his knockout.

Other contenders in action included #14 Deiveson Figueiredo stopping former UFC Flyweight Championship contender #6 John Moraga, for the biggest win in his career. At 4-0 in the UFC, Deiveson looks poised to joined the division’s top 10, and puts himself in position for a title shot next year barring a loss.

While not top 15 fighters, both James Krause and Eryk Anders also scored huge knockout victories during UFC Lincoln. Anders, who should arguably be 4-0 (he dropped a controversial split decision to Lyoto Machida this year), dropped Tim Williams with a head kick knockout. For Krause, he earned his first TKO in four years in the second round over Warlley Alves.

Joanne Calderwood is sure to join the Women’s Flyweight rankings this week. The #15 strawweight made her long overdue debut in her new division and transitioned from a triangle choke to an armbar to tap out Kalindra Faria. #11 Strawweight Cortney Casey also outpointed #14 Angela Hill on her way to a split decision victory.

Fightful.com will have a full recap of UFC Lincoln on Tuesday at 3 PM EST on the new-look Fightful Holy Smokes MMA Podcast with Sean Ross Sapp, Showdown Joe Ferraro, and new co-host James Lynch.