UFC newcomer scores first knockout of professional career with UFC debut, but with a heavy heart

UFC debutant Francis Marshall scored the first knockout victory of his professional MMA career in his first fight under the UFC banner. However, the Dana White's Contender Series (DWCS) graduate went into the fight bottling his emotions.

Marshall, DWCS 48 winner, aced his debut with a vicious second-round knockout of Marcelo Rojo on UFC Orlando’s preliminary card. Marshall extended his overall record to 7-0 and handed Rojo his third straight loss inside the octagon.

The finishing sequence of the fight came courtesy of a solid right hook that Marshall landed while breaking from the clinch position and he followed up with a barrage of hammer fists before the referee intervened to stop the fight at the 1:14 mark of the second round.

Speaking with ESPN MMA reporter Brett Okamoto, Marshall claimed that he received news of his uncle passing away on Thursday morning of fight week. With a heavy heart, the American featherweight contender dedicated the momentous occasion to his deceased uncle:

"I just wanted to dedicate this fight to my uncle... I got the news Thursday morning that he passed away Wednesday night, early into Thursday morning... so just to come out here with that [victory], I just wanted to put that for him."

Speaking about what his uncle meant to him, Marshall added:

"He was my dad's brother. He lived in New York so we would always go see him. He was supposed to come to the fight but his sickness kind of took a turn for the worst. He wasn't able to make it."

Check out the interview below:

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UFC debutant Francis Marshall discusses the feeling of scoring his first KO victory as a professional

Francis Marshall made the most of his UFC debut, scoring a spectacular knockout victory over Marcelo Rojo earlier tonight.

Interestingly, it was the first knockout victory of his seven-fight professional MMA career. The undefeated combatant has four submission victories under his belt, all of which have come by means of a rear-naked choke.

Sharing his immediate thoughts in the aftermath of his debut in the aforementioned interview, Marshall stated:

"It feel great. I've been waiting for it [knockout victory] to come and I finally got it here. I just listened to [my] corner. They were telling me to throw that right hand, left hook. One of them landed and he dropped and I just went in to finish the job."

Earlier this year in August, Marshall scored a lopsided decision win over Connor Matthews on DWCS, allowing him to secure a coveted UFC contract.