‘Fighting Nerds’ recruit nears all-time KO record with devastating finish at UFC 319

One of the lesser known ‘Fighting Nerds’ is etching his name in the record books.

12 fights go down from Chicago on Saturday night, with a middleweight championship between Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev headlining UFC 319.

The prelims only saw a couple of knockouts with Alexander Hernandez halting Chase Hooper in the opening round and Michał Oleksiejczuk finishing veteran Gerald Meerschaert in his 24th UFC appearance.

This was Oleksiejczuk’s ninth win in the UFC and second in a row since joining up with Brazilian team ‘Fighting Nerds’.

READ MORE: Khamzat Chimaev’s teammate survives major scare to win debut on four days notice at UFC 319

Photo by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLCMichał Oleksiejczuk trails Vitor Belfort, ‘Rumble’ Johnson in first-round knockoutsOleksiejczuk needed less than a round to knock out submission artist Meerschaert at UFC 319.

All but one of Oleksiejczuk’s UFC wins have come by finish. Oleksiejczuk’s stoppage in Chicago brings the middleweight up to eight first-round knockouts.

Oleksiejczuk trails only behind legendary KO artist Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson (9) and Vitor Belfort (11) when it comes to first-round knockouts under the UFC banner.

21-9 as a pro, Oleksiejczuk has 16 finishes, 13 of which have come in the opening round.

Michał Oleksiejczuk isn’t the only Fighting Nerd at UFC 319Oleksiejczuk’s recent success could be attributed to his move to the Fighting Nerds in Brazil.

The core four Fighting Nerds are Caio Borralho, Jean Silva, Mauricio Ruffy, and Carlos Prates.

Prates fights top welterweight contender Geoff Neal on the pay-per-view main card of UFC 319.

Prates attempts to bounce back from his first UFC loss to Ian Machado Garry after starting his UFC run at 4-0 with four knockouts in 2024.