At the IPIC Arena Tuesday night, Buentello showed he can still be a threat at the age of 42, when he delivered a right-hand blow to compatriot American Eric Prindle’s chin after just 64 seconds.
It left Prindle on the floor and proved to be the last piece of action in the eagerly-anticipated contest.
For Buentello, it was his second knock-out success in the capital after defeating France’s Rameau Sokoudjou back in October.
“I know he’s a little heavier and way bigger than me so I knew I had to be patient,” said Buentello, who now holds a 36-16 record.
“I had to come off his jab, I know that he was a good boxer back in the day. I had to just be patient and get the shot. I’ve had a lot of success in Abu Dhabi and it’s just hard for me to find fights in the US because nobody wants to fight me, I’ve just got way too much experience.”
The roaring home fans were in full force to see Al Darmaki. The Emirati came into his bout searching for his first win in four attempts and gain revenge on October’s defeat to Artiyom Gorodynets.
Paul Buentello's second consecutive KO! @paulbuentello wins, R1, 1:04, KO pic.twitter.com/W63Q4CDdxr
— Abu Dhabi Warriors (@ADWarriors) May 24, 2016
Al Darmaki started off brightly with quick punches, but Gorodynets was soon in control, striking the Emirati on the head several times before the referee called an end to the bout to hand the Ukrainian a TKO victory.
The other eight fights provided some intriguing individual displays, none more so than Tahar Hadbi. The Algerian needed just two-and-half minutes before delivering a brutal right blow that sent Yoichiro Sato straight to the floor.
Pavel Gordeev, Andreas Michaildis and Alexander Sarnavskiy were taken to the full three rounds before prevailing on unanimous decisions.
Sarnavskiy, whose lethal strikes left his opponent Jorge Patino with heavy bruises that caused blood to drip on his eye, was satisfied to come out on top.
“It was a great fight by me and I knew it was going to be tough because he’s an excellent fighter. I tried to keep him on the floor but I stuck to my game,” he said.
Sarnavskiy wins with a unanimous decision. #ADW4 #AbuDhabiWarriors #UAE #WarriorSpirit pic.twitter.com/V8GKbQC3V9
— Abu Dhabi Warriors (@ADWarriors) May 24, 2016
“It’s my second time here in Abu Dhabi and I would like to thank the fans for coming tonight and showing their support.”
Joachim Christensen upset American Anthony Ruiz in their clash. The Dane waited patiently before forcing Ruiz to tap-out after being trapped by an arm bar.
“This is the fourth opponent I have competed against in the last two months and I have been training very hard in camp,” said a delighted Christensen.
“I’m happy I got the arm-bar victory and happy to have come here to Abu Dhabi and compete.”
In other matches, Russia’s Alexey Polpudnikov defeated Brazilian Antonio Pereira by TKO, while there were victories for Akop Stepanyan (split decision) over Will Chope and Diego Gonzalez (tapout) over Carlos Moyona in the second fight of the night.
