Victor Altamirano survived an early barrage to pick up his first promotional victory Saturday at UFC 278.
In the preliminary card opener, Altamirano (11-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) defeated Daniel Da Silva (11-4 MMA, 0-3 UFC) by TKO at the 3:39 mark of Round 1 at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City.
From the opening bell, both men came out swinging. It was da Silva who connected significantly first. Da Silva dropped Altamirano to the canvas and nearly stopped him as the referee inched close. Altamirano somehow survived.
Although his attempts to clinch were unsuccessful, Altamirano jumped in with a sneaky knee to the solar plexus. Da Silva hit the deck and Altamirano landed on top of him. From there, Altamirano landed elbow after elbow after elbow. Despite a few quick armbar attempts from the bottom, Altamirano continued to hammer as da Silva split open and blood squirted onto the canvas.
With nowhere for da Silva to go, the referee dove in and waved off the fight.
El Magnifico opens things up with a bang
Stream #UFC278 tonight on @ESPNPlus
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— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 20, 2022
Altamirano picked up his first UFC victory. He rebounded from a loss in his promotional debut in February, a split decision defeat to Carlos Hernandez.
Altamirano, 31, is a former LFA flyweight champion who was born in Mexico. At 9, he moved to Texas with his family and grew up as an undocumented immigrant due to a family tragedy, which he detailed in an interview with MMA Junkie earlier this week.