UFC 222 results: Zak Ottow defeats retiring Mike Pyle in first round

A mixed martial arts OG had his final fight Saturday night.

Longtime veteran Mike Pyle rounded out his career in his adopted hometown of Las Vegas at UFC 222.

The feel-good version of the story ended there, though, as Zak Ottow defeated him via TKO at 2:34 of the opening round at T-Mobile Arena.

“I loved it. I f*ckin’ loved it,” Pyle, holding back tears, said of his career in his postfight interview. “I loved every bit of it. This camp was the best. I was so emotional.”

Ottow pushed the pace from the outset, landing strikes and keeping Pyle backpedaling. The beginning of the end came when Ottow dropped Pyle with a right hand. The referee gave Pyle plenty of leeway to get better position before waving the bout off.

Ottow (16-5), who had three of his previous UFC fights go to split decisions before losing by TKO to Li Jingliang in his last outing, was glad to get a finish as he improved his UFC record to 3-2.

“It does feel good to get back to my barbaric ways from when I was coming up on my regional level, these split decisions were getting real frustrating.”

The 42-year-old Pyle finishes his career with a record of 27-14-1. The Tennessee native’s career dates back to a June 1999 card in Memphis in which he lost a decision to Quinton Jackson in both fighters’ pro debuts. Pyle held the WEC welterweight belt and had 10 career UFC victories.