“The Duelist” Ihor Potieria, 26, of Kyiv, Ukraine has earned his first Ultimate Fighting Championship victory. The Ukrainian mixed martial artist was one of the winners at “UFC 283“.

Featuring 12 bouts, “UFC 283” was held at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro on January 21, 2023. In the 10th bout of the evening, Potieria fought Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, 41, of Curitiba, Parana, Brazil in the light heavyweight division.

Herb Dean served as the referee of the light heavyweight contest. He stopped the fight after 4 minutes and 5 seconds in the first round.

Potieria defeated Rua via technical knockout via punches. It was the Brazilian MMA veteran’s retirement fight.

“I’m sorry, you guys,” Rua said after the fight. “I wanted to end my career with a win but I’m going to stop in right here. I’m going to end my career here.”

“I’ve been in the game 21 years and in the UFC for 16,” Rua continued. He also thanked his fans, UFC president Dana White, ex-UFC chief executive officer Lorenzo Fertitta and “everyone in the UFC that made it happen through all the years”.

Losing to Potieria downgraded Rua’s professional MMA record to 27 wins, 14 losses and 1 draw. On the other hand, the Ukrainian MMA fighter now has 19 wins and 3 losses.

Potieria made his professional MMA debut on January 31, 2015 in a World Warriors Fighting Championship event in Kyiv. On September 28, 2021, he defeated Lukasz Sudolski via technical knockout via punches at “Dana White’s Contender Series 2021” Week 5 at the UFC Apex in Enterprise, Nevada, USA.

On July 30, 2022, Potieria made his UFC debut at “UFC 277” at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Teas, USA. He lost via technical knockout via punches and knees to Nicolae Negumereanu.