O'Malley scores late TKO vs. Moutinho at UFC 264

Sean O'Malley destroyed Kris Moutinho in the UFC 264 main-card opener, but the UFC newcomer - who stepped in on less than two weeks' notice - survived much longer than expected.

O'Malley defeated Moutinho via TKO at 4:33 of the third round Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The rising bantamweight star mauled an aggressive Moutinho for the better part of three rounds, landing an enormous number of head strikes, leg kicks, and body shots.

However, the story of the fight was arguably Moutinho's toughness and heart. He absorbed a ton of damage but never stopped moving forward. Moutinho even tagged O'Malley a couple of times, but it was almost entirely one-way traffic for "Sugar."

O'Malley hurt Moutinho with big shots late in the third round and referee Herb Dean had seen enough. The crowd in Las Vegas booed the stoppage and several pundits on social media criticized Dean's decision to wave off the contest.

Afterward, O'Malley called out Cody Garbrandt, Petr Yan, Dominick Cruz, and Rob Font.

The 26-year-old extended his winning streak to two with the victory, while Moutinho, 28, fell to 0-1 in the promotion.