UFC Sioux Falls Results: John Lineker smashes Michael McDonald with brutal knockout

A new contender at bantamweight emerged in the UFC's fourth show of the week

John Lineker knocked out Michael McDonald with a flurry of big punches (UFC)

A relentless period of four UFC shows in just seven days concluded last evening with UFC Fight Night 91 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Lineker KO's McDonald inside one round

On a card featuring some of the lesser known names on the roster, the main event featured two of the hottest talents in the UFC's 135lbs bantamweight division with Michael McDonald taking on John Lineker in a fight scheduled to go five, five-minute rounds.

The opening round opened innocently enough with two minutes of both guys pawing and feeling each other out as they circled the Octagon. All hell soon broke loose though as Lineker landed a big right cross that dipped the legs of McDonald who did well to hang on and fire back his own shots as he looked to recover.

What followed can only be described as a wild flurry of hands as both guys abandoned defense and swung for the fences packing everything they had behind wild hooks and uppercuts for the next forty-three seconds.

Lineker was the man consistently landing the harder shots though and after landing some stiff shots to the head and chin of McDonald, he landed a telling left hook to the chin and then a right uppercut as McDonald fell to the mat unconscious.

It was a brutal KO and speaking on the microphone to Jon Anik afterward, Lineker's message to the champ was simple: "Dominick Cruz I am coming for your belt'.

Ferguson survives early scare to beat Vannata

The co-main event featured Tony Ferguson taking on Landon Vannata in what many had billed as a total mismatch with the number #3 in lightweight division taking on a guy who was making his UFC debut.

All assumptions this was going to be a squash match were well and truly blown out the water in a wild round one which saw Vannata stun and rock Ferguson multiple times on the feet using a wide variety of diverse striking techniques.

Towards the end of the opening round, it looked like a shock was on the cards as Ferguson was nearly finished after being dropped by a head kick. Ferguson however, somehow managed to recover and with only thirty seconds left he rallied to hold on and see the round out.

With his bell well and truly rung, Ferguson came out firing in the second and hit an amazing superman punch that Vannata appeared to take well despite it landing flush. It was the beginning of the end though, as Ferguson seized his opportunity shortly after as Vannata dropped his head straight into an opportune D'Arce choke submission to get the tap.

It was an incredibly brave effort from Vannata who came into the fight on just two weeks notice, but it Ferguson who left with his hand raised and his eighth consecutive UFC win.

Other fights of note ...

Louis Smolka put on a clinic to defeat Ben Nguyen in the main card opener while Keita Nakamura tapped out Kyle Noke with just one second to go in the second round with a rear-naked choke.

There were also wins on the main card for Tim Boetsch and Daniel Omielanczuk.

'Smile N' Sam Alvey epic post fight speech

In one of the more bizarre moments of the evening, 'Smilin' Sam Alvey gave one of the more memorable post-fight speeches in recent history. Speaking to Jon Anik in the Octagon after his first round submission win over Erik Spicely, Alvey proceeded to tell Michael Bisping (who was working in the Fox Sports studio as an analyst) that his mentor Dan Henderson would take his belt should they meet later in the year.

While that wasn't overly crazy in itself, Alvey then took things to a different level predicting that Henderson would then go onto to defend the belt until he was 60, at which point Alvey would turn heel on his mentor and defeat him to take the belt himself. Alvey then proceeded to call out fellow middleweight Oluwale Bamgbose but then added he would also happily face any 185lbs European fighter.

To top it all off, Alvey then hinted that he deserved a bonus for his effort and made reference to what a nice gift it would be for his heavily pregnant wife who despite being due to give birth in ten days cornered him for his fight .... only in MMA eh!?

UFC Fight Night 91 Full Results

MAIN CARD

John Lineker def. Michael McDonald via KO, Round 1, 2:43

Tony Ferguson def. Lando Vannata via Submission (D’arce Choke), Round 2, 2:22

Tim Boetsch def. Josh Samman via TKO (Strikes), Round 2, 3:49

Daniel Omielanczuk def. Oleksiy Oliynyk via Majority Decision (28-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Keita Nakamura def. Kyle Noke via Submission (Rear-naked choke), Round 2 – 4:59

Louis Smolka def. Ben Nguyen via TKO (Strikes), Round 2 – 4:41

PRELIMINARY CARD

Katlyn Chookagian def. Lauren Murphy via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Sam Alvey def. Eric Spicely via Submission (Guillotine Choke), Round 1 – 2:43

Cortney Casey def. Cristina Stanciu via TKO (Strikes), Round 1 – 2:36

Scott Holtzman def. Cody Pfister via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

UFC FIGHT PASS CARD

Rani Yahya def. Matthew Lopez via Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke), Round 3 – 4:19

Alex Nicholson def. Devin Clark via Knockout (Punches), Round 1 – 4:57