Modestas Bukauskas TKOs Rafael Cerqueira at UFC Seattle
Modestas Bukauskas knocked out Rafael Cerqueira with strikes at 2:12 of Round 1 at Climate Pledge Arena on February 22, 2025. The light heavyweight win extended Bukauskas’s winning run after a third-round submission of Marcin Prachnio the previous July. The official scorecards list the Seattle result as a first-round knockout, and the event recap confirms the time.
The retained video is Bukauskas’s post-fight Octagon interview. It gives his immediate reaction to the victory; it is not a replay of the knockout. The stoppage itself came early in a bout that began with both men at striking range. Bukauskas pressed forward, created an opening, and landed the decisive punch that dropped Cerqueira. The referee stepped in as Cerqueira hit the canvas, bringing the fight to an end before the opening round reached its midpoint. The quick finish gave Bukauskas a clear result in front of the Seattle audience.
Bukauskas entered the contest after beating Tyson Pedro and Zac Pauga, then losing to Vitor Petrino and defeating Marcin Prachnio. After Seattle, he earned a split-decision victory over Ion Cutelaba in May 2025 and knocked out Paul Craig in September. He lost to Nikita Krylov in January 2026, then took a split decision from Christian Edwards in May and stopped Oumar Sy in September. The official fighter history documents the run.
Cerqueira had already made his promotional debut before the Seattle card, losing to Ibo Aslan by first-round TKO in October 2024. Bukauskas handed him a second straight defeat. Cerqueira later lost a unanimous decision to Julius Walker in August 2025, then was submitted by Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev via rear-naked choke just 33 seconds into their first round in November. The official fighter history lists those results and shows how quickly his first run became difficult.
For Bukauskas, the Seattle finish strengthened a stretch in which he had begun stringing together wins against established light heavyweights. His later record included more setbacks and comebacks, but the Cerqueira bout stands as one of his shortest victories in that period. Cerqueira, meanwhile, needed a reset after back-to-back stoppage losses and found no immediate reprieve in his next two appearances. The official scorecards preserve the exact 2:12 finish, while Bukauskas’s interview captures the moment after the result was announced.
The stoppage gave Bukauskas another notable result in a Seattle appearance that also included several closely contested bouts. Cerqueira entered the event at 11–1, and the Seattle loss moved him to 11–2. Both defeats on his record then came in the promotion: first to Aslan, then to Bukauskas. His later defeats to Walker and Yakhyaev extended that difficult spell. Bukauskas, by contrast, turned a clean first-round knockout into another opportunity to move toward the light heavyweight rankings.
