Old UFC title belt worn by Colby Covington ahead of his fight with Robbie Lawler, inset retro banner. Credit: Steven Ryan/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Two-time UFC Hall of Famer produced his only win in Pride with forgotten 22-second flying knee KO

Originally posted on Bloody Elbow | By Kyle Dimond | Last updated Oct 21, 2025 9:55 PM ET

A UFC Hall of Famer produced one of the fastest finishes of his career on this day in 2006.

Long before the UFC became what it is today, Pride was putting on huge events in Japan that pushed mixed martial arts into new territory.

The promotion put on some spectacular events and featured some of the greatest fighters in the history of the sport during its decade-long run from 1997 to 2007.

Many of Pride’s top stars, excluding Fedor Emelianenko, went on to compete and achieve a lot of success in the UFC.

Some fans might not know that a fighter who produced some iconic moments inside the Octagon also competed in both promotions.

Photo by Esther Lin/Forza LLC via Getty Images

Robbie Lawler won his Pride debut with just five strikes

Earlier this year, Robbie Lawler was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame for the second time.

Lawler may be best known for some of the epic title fights that he put on while holding the welterweight belt, but he had an extensive career before returning to the Octagon in 2013 as a new and improved fighter.

On this day in 2006, a 24-year-old ‘Ruthless’, who was just 11-4 at the time, made his Pride debut at the promotion’s first event to be held outside of Japan.

Long before he became one of the greatest welterweights of all time, Lawler opened the card against his fellow American, Joey Villasenor, and produced one of the quickest nights of his entire career.

The former UFC champion threw just five strikes, with the first being a head kick that landed, a flying knee that dropped his opponent for the second and three follow-up strikes to end the bout in just 22 seconds.

Villasenor was preparing to try and get revenge over Lawler in 2008, with a rematch between them being booked for EliteXC: Night of Champions at the Reno Events Center.

After the event was cancelled, Lawler left his middleweight belt behind to compete for Strikeforce the following year.

Pride 32 on this day in 2006 featured several other MMA and UFC legends

Robbie Lawler may have got the card off to a strong start, but his knockout certainly wasn’t the only highlight from Pride’s debut in the United States.

The card featured some of the promotion’s biggest names, alongside some new additions to the roster that were brought in for this specific event.

Pride 32 card	Weight	Result
Fedor Emelianenko vs Mark Coleman	Heavyweight	Emelianenko via submission (armbar) – Round 2
Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua vs Kevin Randleman	Light heavyweight	Rua via submission (kneebar) – Round 1
Josh Barnett vs Pawel Nastula	Heavyweight	Barnett via submission (toe hold) – Round 2
Eric ‘Butterbean’ Esch vs Sean O’Haire	Heavyweight	Esch via KO – Round 1
Dan Henderson vs Vitor Belfort	Light heavyweight	Henderson via unanimous decision
Phil Baroni vs Yosuke Nishijima	Catchweight (195 pounds)	Baroni via technical submission (kimura) – Round 1
Kazuhiro Nakamura vs Travis Galbraith	Light heavyweight	Nakamura via TKO – Round 2
Robbie Lawler vs Joey Villasenor	Middleweight	Lawler via KO (flying knee) – Round 1