A champion kickboxer, Liu Ce put a beating on Levi Rodrigues Jr. in their slugfest during the UFC Shanghai main card, eventually landing a late first-round knockout win.
Ce found success early with low kicks, mixing in jabs as he found his rhythm almost right away. Rodrigues attempted to use pressure to halt Ce’s momentum, even getting him to the fence at one point, but Ce continued to land inside blows.
Ce dropped Rodrigues with a right hand, rocking him as Ce looked to put the finishing touches on the bout. Rodrigues attempted to stay in the fight, swinging wildly, even connecting on a couple of shots upstairs. But one more solid right hand from Ce put Rodrigues out cold, faceplanting on the mat.
Ce, a former K-1 champion, is now 4-1 in professional MMA. This marked his UFC debut, with three of his other four fights coming in WLF. He entered tonight off a first-round TKO of Igor Barabanov in May.
