UFC Copenhagen results: Olympic silver medalist Mark O. Madsen mauls Danilo Belluardo in debut

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Olympic silver medalist Mark O. Madsen made quite a statement in his UFC debut on Saturday in his native Denmark.

The Greco-Roman wrestling powerhouse needed just one takedown to put Danilo Belluardo on the ground and he never let him up again after punching his way to a TKO stoppage at just 1:12 into the opening round.

“What a moment. What a gratifying moment. This is absolutely amazing,” Madsen said while celebrating with the crowd in Copenhagen. “Like Martin [Kampmann] told me, get him down, beat him up.”

It didn’t take long for the three-time Olympian to latch onto the clinch before tossing Belluardo down to the ground following a very brief exchange on the feet.

Once Madsen got the fight into his world, he immediately began hammering away with punches and elbows with Belluardo’s defense withering behind every shot.

Finally after Madsen was just unloading with no sign of Belluardo attempting to escape outside of covering his head to duck and cover from absorbing the blows, the referee stepped into stop the fight.

At 35, Madsen is obviously getting a bit of a late start for his UFC career, but considering his athletic pedigree with a vast background in wrestling, he’s already got a leg up on a lot of the competition he’ll face in the UFC’s lightweight division.

Now 9-0 in his career, Madsen will immediately become a name to watch in 2019 and beyond.