Manchester's Brendan Loughnane returned to winning ways with a win over Pedro Carvalho at PFL 3 in Chicago on Friday.
Loughnane, 34, hasn't fought since a shocking loss to Jesus Pinedo in June.
A jerked right hand started Carvalho's fall, but the referee intervened and stopped the fight just 86 seconds later.
The win was Loughnane's 29th career win and gave him six points in the first round of the 2024 Professional Fighters League (PFL) season.
Loughnane is a former PFL featherweight champion who won the 2022 tournament and made history as the PFL's first English champion.
However, in 2023, he suffered a KO loss to Peru's Pinedo for the first time in 32 fights, and his dream of defending his title was taken away.
It took Loughnane 10 months to recover, but he finally regained his confidence after a sparring session with former UFC champion Conor McGregor.
And on Friday night, Loughnane showed no signs of anxiety in the cage, crossing paths with Carvalho in the first 10 seconds and landing a sharp right after catching his opponent's kick.
Carvalho spent most of the match withstanding Loughnane's pressure, dropping short right hands.
Loughnane moved forward to try to finish the fight, but struggled to land cleanly on the wriggling Carvalho.
The Portuguese dived for Loughnane's legs, but referee Kevin McDonald decided to stop the match.
Carvalho, 28, has lost three straight matches.
Good news for Loughnane, but a tough night for the Welshman Brett Johns.
The 32-year-old featherweight lost a unanimous decision to Russia's Timur Khizriyev, his fourth loss in 24 MMA fights.
The 28-year-old Hiszuliev remains undefeated with 15 straight wins, but Johns needs to bounce back quickly for his next fight in the summer.
“It wasn't the result we wanted for Brett Johns, but this guy fought hard against undefeated talent and left everything behind,” Johns coach Richard Shore said after the game.
“We are proud of him and will be there again on June 28th.”
PFL's season format sees each fighter compete for points twice in two matches before advancing to the knockout stages and finals at the end of the year.
The winner of each tournament will receive $1 million along with the PFL World Title.
