Watch: New UFC signing Luis Hernandez was previously credited with the fastest MMA KO of all time

Luis Hernandez earned himself a UFC contract this week but has delivered more impressive wins in the past.

Dana White heaped huge praise on Akbar Abdullaev for the 19-second knockout that he delivered at the Apex on Tuesday night.

The undefeated lightweight may have produced one of the best finishes of the year, which is something another one of this week’s Dana White’s Contender Series winners knows about.

Hernandez may be known to some fans for his clash with Sean Strickland after he taunted the current UFC champion, but he’s also the holder of a stunning head kick finish.

Over 360 fighters have earned UFC contracts through Dana White's Contender Series.

Luis Hernandez climbed to 8-0 earlier this week to earn himself a spot on the UFC roster while being a deputy at the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office.

The 30-year-old is yet to go the distance, with his first five pro bouts ending in the first round following a 4-0 amateur career.

In 2023, he competed against Brian Topp at Titan FC 83 and produced a highlight that those in attendance at the Gulfstream Park will never forget.

His opponent may have been anticipating a glove touch, but was instead met with a left head kick that instantly knocked him out.

In the building, the Titan announcer claimed when reading out the result that the finish came just one second into the bout, which would make it the fastest finish in MMA history.

This outcome was disputed by MMA databases like Tapology and Sherdog, who have the knockout listed as coming three seconds into the fight instead.

Tapology recently commented on this again following Hernandez’s Contender Series win.

“We responded in 2023 and we checked it again with a stopwatch just now,” their official account wrote on X. “It was not 1 second. We are not obligated to put a clearly wrong time in for a fight just because some person at a small Titan event wrote it down as 1 second. We have 55 MMA TKO’s listed as 3 seconds and this is one of them.”

Luis Hernandez was the underdog coming into his Contender Series bout with Hugo Guillon.

The American’s pressure looked to be wearing on his opponent in the first round, but as Hernandez started to slow down, it looked like he was on the cusp of being stopped.

In a wild middleweight clash for as long as it lasted, the contract winner produced a quick comeback win by submitting Guillon just over a minute into the second round.

“I loved this fight,” Dana White said when announcing the contract winners. “Loved this fight. Two dogs blasting each other with big shots. You guys basically have the same record. Both of you guys were in trouble. You overcame big punches, being tired, submission attempts to get the finish. Incredible fight, I absolutely loved it. Welcome to the UFC.”