One-punch knockouts are no longer just a man's game.
Brazilian strawweight Jessica Andrade staked her claim to top-shelf status in the UFC's most talent-sopped women's division, finishing fourth-ranked contender Karolina Kowalkiewicz with a single right hand to end their UFC 228 co-main event at American Airlines Center in Dallas.
The two women entered the Octagon having each lost a previous title try at 115 pounds, but Andrade looked ready for another chance as she came out firing against her twice-beaten Polish opponent.
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Kowalkiewicz was wobbled twice in the first 30 seconds, but stayed on her feet and appeared as if she'd weather the storm and perhaps run the aggressive Andrade out of gas.
A moment later, though, a looping right hand landed on the left side of her head, rendering her instantly unconscious and prompting an immediate intervention from Kerry Hatley as she fell to her back.
The official time was 1:48 of Round 1.
The blowout was the second impressive finish of the night for a 115-pound woman, following Tatiana Suarez's third-round stoppage of former champ Carla Esparza in the final prelim before the pay-per-view portion of the show.
Andrade is 19-6 and has now won three straight since a title-fight loss to then-champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 211 in May 2017. Jedrzejczyk lost her belt to Rose Namajunas in her next fight.
Ironically, Kowalkiewicz arrived Saturday with a previous defeat of Namajunas and a loss to Jedrzejczyk.
"I'm ready. I'm here," Andrade said, pointing to UFC czar Dana White outside the cage. "I'm here to prove I'm better than I've ever been. How about a fight for the belt?"
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