Ex-UFC Veteran Returns to Win Column with Brutal KO Victory

Fight fans had their plates full last week with several star-studded fight cards. The UFC brought Dana White’s Contender Series and Road to UFC, before capping the weekend with its UFC Shanghai card. 

Amid all the headline-making results, including Song Yadong’s stunning upset, an ex-UFC fighter managed to steal some of the spotlight with a brilliant knockout. After struggling to find his footing following his UFC exit, AJ Cunningham finally has something to celebrate.

AJ Cunningham Turns Back the Clock with Spinning Elbow

Mike Perry was supposed to be the face of Dual Arena 1. Instead, while Perry suffered a devastating loss, AJ Cunningham delivered the moment that fans remember from the promotion’s debut.

“The Savage” returned to the win column in emphatic fashion, delivering what could arguably be the most violent highlight of his career after three long years.

Cunningham opened the MMA portion of Saturday night’s card against Joe Penafiel. The 31-year-old flattened Penafiel with a vicious spinning elbow, producing a sensational viral highlight reel. 

That aside, it was more than just a spectacular highlight. The knockout gave the featherweight his first victory since leaving the UFC and moved his professional record to 12-5.

Perhaps fittingly, the fighter sounded every bit as relieved as he did fired up afterward.“I had a short stint with the UFC, got laid on by a 5’6 Asian. That’s fun in the massage parlor, not so fun in the octagon,” Cunningham said in his post-fight interview. “I know I’m pretty much a retard in here with no good technique.”

AJ Cunningham Rebounds After UFC Run Ends

For the unversed, Cunningham’s time in the UFC was a complete disaster. After going 10-2 to begin his professional career, he first fell short of securing a UFC contract when Steven Nguyen knocked him out on Dana White’s Contender Series back in 2023. 

Despite the loss, he bounced back with a first-round finish three months later, eventually earning the highly sought-after UFC contract. His dream moment came as a brutal short-notice reckoning against Ľudovít Klein. Cunningham was stopped in the opening round.

AJ Cunningham Retires Due to Injury

The following year, he saw his hopes go down the drain after suffering yet another loss, this time to Su Young You, via unanimous decision. Before things could get better, Cunningham announced in February 2026 that his MMA career was over. 

A ruptured disc in his back, he explained, had failed to heal properly, leaving him unable to train or compete at the level he needed. 

AJ Cunningham's Comeback Ends in Victory

Saturday night offered a very different ending to that chapter. Dual Arena 1 was the promotion’s first event, held at the Kia Center in Orlando, Florida. The card featured 11 fights in total, including four MMA bouts, with Cunningham and Penafiel getting the night's MMA action underway.

The event itself had already taken a significant hit during fight week, when Dillon Danis withdrew from his scheduled main event against Perry due to an arm injury. Brandon Jenkins stepped in on short notice to face Perry, while Cunningham quietly went about his own business earlier on the card.