Veretennikov’s Early Pressure Stopped Niko Price
Nikolay Veretennikov stopped Niko Price by TKO at 1:42 of round one on February 7, 2026, at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas. The welterweight preliminary bout ended before Price could turn the early exchanges into an extended contest.
The welterweights made their scheduled allowance
Veretennikov weighed 170.5 pounds at the official weigh-in, while Price registered 171. Both therefore came within the allowance for a non-title welterweight contest, keeping the assignment at its scheduled division.
Their bout occupied a preliminary-card slot on the event headlined by Mario Bautista and Vinicius Oliveira. The same undercard included several full-distance decisions, making this quick finish a sharp change of pace.
Pressure forced Price toward the fence
Veretennikov advanced early and restricted the space available to Price. His pressure brought the exchanges toward the boundary, where a right hand hurt the American and created the finishing opportunity.
He followed with additional strikes rather than allowing Price time to recover. The referee intervened at 1:42, recording a technical knockout from strikes instead of allowing the damage to continue.
A decisive finish on a mixed preliminary card
The official result required no judging because the opening round had not reached its midpoint. Veretennikov’s combination of forward movement and follow-up offense settled the matchup quickly.
Elsewhere on the preliminaries, Daniil Donchenko defeated Alex Morono over three rounds and Jakub Wiklacz submitted Muin Gafurov in the final second. Veretennikov supplied the card’s much earlier welterweight stoppage, establishing a clear result in less than two minutes.
Sources
- UFC: official results and scorecards
- UFC: official weights
- UFC: preliminary-card report
Article Tags
Nikolay Veretennikov, Niko Price, UFC, MMA
