Joshua Quinlan was one of the winners on the DWCS (Dana White Contender Series) and just had his spectacular UFC debut in San Diego for UFC Fight Night Vera vs. Cruz where he won by a devastating KO. Quinlan is an American fighter with Hawaian roots fighting out of Las Vegas, Nevada, who is 6-0-1NC. The NC (no contest) happened last september on DWCS. All Quinlan’s bouts have come by way of finish. 4 Knockouts and 2 submissions and a TKO that was overturned to a NC due to doping issues.
The Spectacular Knockout
Quinlan vs. Witt was the second fight to kick off the prelims, and with 2:09 remaining in the first round Quinlan gets the knockout over Witt. It wasn’t the quick left hook that left Witt motionless on the canvas that was spectacular. It was the restraint he showed not to give follow-up shots when he saw that he was completely out of it, lying there. It is great sportsmanship like that which is why we all love watching MMA. And the fans showed they appreciated it in the post fight speech after Quinlan spoke on not giving the extra shots. Of course there are those who will choose to swing until the referee gets them off, but that is what the job entails. We cannot fault them either.
For video of the knockout: https://twitter.com/ufc/status/1558555074108039168?s=20&t=Av8aU5R8WOPXKTCn4_VGBw
A Little Backstory
Quinlan’s knockout bout was a great entrance into the UFC to put the other welterweights on notice of who he is. But his debut didn’t come without some trials and tribulations. 8 days before his bout this Saturday, August 13th, he was pulled from his debut against Witt because of a trace amount of DHCMT (Dehydrochloromethyltestosterone) that was found in his system. Dana White (UFC President) was asked about this at a media scrum and acknowledged he heard about it but wasn’t aware of what was to be done, or being done regarding the matter. Miraculously, just before saturday, the bout was set to go after the NSAC advised that it was ok and Quinlan was good to go.
The only thing is this is the second time that this has happened with Quinlan. Quinlan was already suspened 9 months last september on DWCS after testing positive for drostanolone. He got a TKO (technical knockout) in his bout then, and after the amounts of the drug were found in his system, the TKO was overturned to a NC.
Quinlan has been nothing but forthcoming about his doping issues and faced the crowd when it comes to backlash. Of the fighters who are caught. He has been honest and direct about his need to use performance enhancing drugs and has learned from his mistakes as he stated in his instagram post.
Conclusion
We cannot fault Quinlan as honesty is the best policy. Even though this is the second time, we have been here with Quinlan. He has a bright future, he is exciting, and a great fighter with a 100% finish rate so far. We hope that these were just mistakes and hope to see him do well in his career with no further doping issues.
Image: Courtesy of @kauaiquinlan instagram
