O'Malley tees off on Paiva for 1st-round TKO

Sean O'Malley added another finish to his highlight reel in Saturday's UFC 269 main-card opener.

O'Malley defeated Raulian Paiva via TKO at the 4:42 mark of the first round during a bantamweight bout in Las Vegas.

"Sugar" rocked Paiva with a right hand and then began teeing off against the fence. He dropped Paiva with another right, and after Paiva returned to his feet, O'Malley put him down for good with a left punch, forcing the referee to intervene.

O'Malley revealed in his postfight interview that he suffered a rib injury during his training camp and was "99.9%" sure at one point that he would withdraw from UFC 269. He added that he hadn't grappled or sparred in the three weeks leading up to the fight.

Earlier in the round, O'Malley displayed a patient approach, using his reach advantage to land jabs from the outside and his movement to avoid Paiva's offense.

One of the hottest prospects in the division, O'Malley extended his winning streak to three with the triumph and improved to 15-1 as a professional.

Meanwhile, Paiva's three-bout winning streak came to an end. The Brazilian fighter dropped to 3-3 in the UFC and 21-4 as a pro. Paiva, who used to compete in the flyweight division, is now 1-1 at bantamweight.