UFC newcomer wants to 'settle the score' following brutal debut KO

Ce Liu wasted no time making an impression in the UFC, earning a first-round knockout victory at UFC Shanghai on August 29—but his opponent was not the fighter originally scheduled. Liu (4-1) was set to make his Octagon debut against Junior Tafa (7-6) in front of a home crowd, but Tafa withdrew due to undisclosed reasons just five days before fight night. Levi Rodrigues stepped in on short notice as a replacement.

Liu made the most of the opportunity, engaging in a back-and-forth opening round before taking control in the final minute and flatting Rodrigues with a brutal knockout. The Chinese light heavyweight, known as "The Oriental Dragon," has now finished all four of his professional victories, going past the first round in only one win.

In the aftermath, Liu called for a rebooking against his original opponent. "I want to challenge someone—my last opponent," Liu said backstage. "I want to settle the score with him in our next match." Tafa, meanwhile, is 3-6 in the UFC and is coming off a first-round knockout loss to Iwo Baraniewski, making a rematch against Liu potentially significant for both fighters' trajectories.