LAS VEGAS – Da'Mon Blackshear beat Luan Lacerda with a second-round TKO Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC on ESPN 45 in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Blackshear, who picked up his first win in the UFC after a loss and draw in his first two fights in the promotion.
Da'Mon Blackshear vs. Luan Lacerda
Result: Da’Mon Blackshear def. Luan Lacerda TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:54
Updated records: Blackshear (14-5-1 MMA, 1-1-1 UFC), Lacerda (12-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC)
Key stat: Blackshear outstruck Lacerda 85-31 on the way to the first knockout loss of Lacerda’s career.
Blackshear on the fight's key moment
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JUNE 03: (R-L) Da’Mon Blackshear punches Luan Lacerda of Brazil in a bantamweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on June 03, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
“I knew he was going to go in there kind of strong. I think he took some shots that I thought he wasn’t going to take, and that was about it.”
Blackshear on his first UFC win
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JUNE 03: (L-R) Luan Lacerda of Brazil punches Da’Mon Blackshear in a bantamweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on June 03, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
“It feels really good to be back in the win column. It almost gets to a point where you kind of forget the difference between winning and losing. It’s a lot, and I love winning.
“(Losing), it’s just a letdown. You build up and you have a vision of how life is going to be after that, and that’s all you see because you don’t want to see anything else. You can’t see anything else other than winning. And then it’s just like, everything kind of just crashes and falls. But if you win, then your vision’s coming true and the path that you set set forward is right in front of you. So it’s a huge difference and it feels really good to win.”
Blackshear on what he wants next
Apr 8, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Rob Font (red gloves) fights Adrian Yanez (blue gloves) during UFC 287 at Miami-Dade Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rich Storry-USA TODAY Sports
“I have a few opponents in mind. I like to fight. I want to fight everybody in the 135 division. I want to test myself against everybody in that division. I’m not just aiming for the top 15. I want to f*cking eliminate everybody, and I want to test myself against every single body. I’m looking early September, end of August.
“… I was thinking I can hop right up to the top. I can fight Adrian Yanez. I like that matchup. I think I do f*cking extremely well against Adrian. I think I’ll shock the world. I’ll piece him up on the feet. I’ll let loose with my legs and destroy him on the ground. That’s a big move. I would like to fight Cody Stamann (and) Douglas Silva de Andrade, I think would be a good opponent for me, as well.”
To hear more from Blackshear, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 45.
