Marwan Rahiki Repeats Bold First-Round KO Claim Ahead of Noche UFC
Marwan Rahiki has doubled down on his first-round KO promise despite Tommy McMillen's significant strikes record that set the UFC world into a frenzy.
Although Jean Silva and Jose Delgado headline the Noche UFC card, another bout is quickly becoming one of the night's most hyped fights: Tommy McMillen vs. Marwan Rahiki. Now, Rahiki has amplified the tension with a bold knockout promise while throwing McMillen's striking abilities under the bus.
Marwan Rahiki Sticks to Guns about Flatlining McMillen in First Round
The featured bout is marked by an intensifying rivalry between the fighters, which Rahiki has admitted is purely competitive. Still, the Moroccan fighter has not withdrawn his fight prediction, instead doubling down on the claim with incendiary remarks.
Speaking with Full Send MMA during the Noche UFC media day, Rahiki announced with conviction, "I'm going to knock him out in the first round."
While he acknowledged the hype for the undefeated-against-undefeated bout, Rahiki believes he might be the first person to punctuate McMillen's rhythm. That confidence, however, is not made on a whim either.
'Freaky' boasts a 100% finish rate with a perfect 9-0 record. Of those, 8 wins have come from KO/TKO, five of which came in the first round. In that context, his latest KO prediction clearly isn't stretching it too far. Moreover, even in his two UFC appearances, Rahiki has delivered nothing less than a spectacle, with stoppages against both Harry Hardwick and Ollie Schmid.
However, Marwan Rahiki's path is dotted with challenges too.
Marwan Rahiki Addresses Tommy McMillen's Volume-Striking Prowess
As impressive as Rahiki's MMA profile is, Tommy McMillen is no underdog either. After a historic TKO win against Alberto Montes with a record-breaking 252 significant strikes across three rounds, for which he bagged a $100,000 bonus in his last fight, 'Gun' is swinging on massive momentum.
With both KO/TKO finishes under his belt and a wrestling base, and more recently a feat that has broken a 15-year-old UFC record for the most strikes in three rounds, McMillen is entering the cage with lethal potential. Beyond his fighting pedigree, McMillen has also made headlines for calling out featherweight UFC champion Alexander Volkanovski. Rahiki, however, is unfazed by those statistics.
"I don't care about the significant strikes. I never thought of it as something impressive, you know?" Rahiki told the press when prompted about the 'Gun's record. "I'm going to see how he's going to react to that because he has never been hit by someone like me. I guarantee you this 100 million percent: he has never been hit in his life by someone who hits as hard as me."
Undoubtedly, this is as bold a claim as they come, and it is now up to the Octagon to decide whether Rahiki can materialize that promise. UFC Noche will premiere on 12 September, 2 pm ET on Paramount.
