Damian Pinas

Pinas and Almeida exchanged kicks and punches through the opening round before Pinas landed a punch that dropped Almeida. A follow-up punch preceded the knockout stoppage at 4:44.

Key moments

• Both fighters exchanged kicks and punches.
• Pinas landed a punch that dropped Almeida.
• A follow-up punch preceded the knockout stoppage at 4:44 of round one.

Pinas announced himself to the UFC in explosive fashion, dropping Schultz three times inside the first two and a half minutes at Arena CDMX in Mexico City. The Surinamese knockout artist applied constant forward pressure and landed his signature jab-cross combination to punctuate each knockdown, with the referee waving it off after the third trip to the canvas.

Key moments

• First knockdown inside the opening minute along the cage — Schultz beat the count but was badly hurt
• Second knockdown roughly 30 seconds later; Pinas nearly finished it there but Schultz survived again
• Decisive third knockdown with a clean right hand at 2:30, prompting the stoppage and a wild Baba Yaga celebration

Pinas earned his UFC contract in dominant fashion against former Jungle Fight champion Vitor Costa at the UFC Apex. A sharp 1-2 combination floored Costa early, and Pinas swarmed with follow-up punches until the referee intervened at 1:46 of the first round. Dana White awarded him a contract on the spot.

Key moments

• Sharp jab-cross landed flush, putting Costa on the canvas for the first time in his career
• Pinas immediately jumped on the finish, landing a measured cluster of punches while Costa was unable to defend intelligently
• Referee stoppage at 1:46 — Pinas leaped around the Apex cage as the crowd erupted

Pinas returned to the Shooto Brasil circuit and looked sharper than ever, finishing Wesley 'Mutante' Silva with punches just shy of the two-minute mark in Rio de Janeiro. The win moved him to 7-1 and continued his streak of first-round finishes heading into the Contender Series.

Key moments

• Pinas found the range early with his jab, backing Silva toward the fence within the first minute
• A right hand upstairs buckled Silva's legs and allowed Pinas to transition straight into finishing mode
• Ground-and-pound punches forced the referee to step in at 1:59, extending his first-round finish streak

Facing a more durable challenge in Jhony Gregory, Pinas showed patience before landing the finish at 4:01 of the first round — his latest stoppage to that point in his career. The longer fight demonstrated his ability to work through an opponent's resistance, improving his record to 5-1.

Key moments

• Gregory's solid chin forced Pinas to reset and work behind the jab for several exchanges rather than rushing for a quick finish
• A body-head combination finally staggered Gregory late in the round, opening the door for the finishing burst
• Referee Igor Falcão halted the bout at 4:01 after a flurry of unanswered punches — the fight lasted longer than all but one of Pinas's previous bouts

Fighting on home soil in Aruba for the first time as a professional, Pinas faced Carlos 'El Matador' Matos and delivered a crowd-pleasing second-round finish. The bout went into the second frame — rare for Pinas — but he closed it out emphatically with punches at 2:38.

Key moments

• Matos survived the first round, making it only the second time Pinas had been taken past the opening frame as a pro
• Pinas increased output at the start of round two, backing Matos into the cage with heavy straight punches
• A right hand staggered Matos and Pinas poured on the ground-and-pound until the stoppage at 2:38

The lone blemish on Pinas's record, and a self-inflicted one — in control of the fight, he threw an illegal kick and was disqualified, his discipline getting ahead of him.

Key moments

• Disqualified for an illegal kick he threw while winning — the only loss on his record
• Damian Pinas took a loss against Italo Gomes.
• The official method is listed as DQ (illegal kick) · R1 2:44.

About as fast as finishes come — Pinas ended it with a flush head kick just 16 seconds in.

Key moments

• A 16-second head-kick knockout
• Damian Pinas recorded a win over Leonardo Ruiz.
• The official method is listed as KO (head kick) · R1 0:16.

Pinas opened his professional career at CFC 8 with the longest fight of his first three appearances, eventually stopping Jeandrick Croes late in the second round. Tapology and Sherdog both credit the finish to elbows and punches at 4:20 of round two, an early sign that he could still close hard once a fight lasted beyond his first burst.

Key moments

• Professional debut on the CFC 8 card in Oranjestad, Aruba
• Tapology and Sherdog list the finish as elbows and punches at 4:20 of round two
• One of the few early Pinas fights that extended past the opening frame before he got the stoppage