Marc-Andre Barriault got his first official UFC win Saturday when he battered Abu Azaitar to a late stoppage in the opening fight at UFC 260.
After an exhausting back-and-forth first two rounds to start the middleweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Barriault (12-4 MMA, 1-3 UFC) took a commanding lead on Azaitar (14-3-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) in the third round.
Barriault rained down punches and elbows from various dominant top control positions, cut Azaitar open and had him teetering on the verge of a stoppage. It seemed it was going to go to the final bell, but Barriault poured it on until referee Jerin Velel finally stopped it at the 4:56 mark of Round 3, making it the second latest finish in UFC middleweight history.
Check out the replay of the stoppage below (via Twitter):
THAT IS IT!
🇨🇦 @PowerBarriault DOMINATES RD 3 and closes the show.
[ #UFC260 – LIVE on @ESPN & #ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/GqOXnhCNrV
— UFC (@ufc) March 28, 2021
Just powering up! 🇨🇦 #UFC260 pic.twitter.com/odLNcyc7XV
— UFC (@ufc) March 28, 2021
The victory was a crucial moment in Barriault’s career. He lost his first three UFC fights. Then after winning his fourth, he had the result overturned due to a positive drug test due to a tainted supplement.
He said he knew he had to put the foot on the gas pedal late to secure the nod, and that’s what he did.
“Between Round 2 and 3 I just said, ‘I have to take all I have and show what I’m made (of),” Barriault said in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. “Thank you everybody back home in Canada. … See you soon.”