INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Beneil Dariush had to overcome some fingers in his eye early in his bout with James Vick, but did so admirably before scoring a thunderous first-round knockout.

The lightweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC 199 event at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. It aired on FOX Sports 1 following additional prelims on UFC Fight Pass and ahead of a main card on pay-per-view.

Dariush (13-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) took the center of the octagon moments after the fight started, Vick (9-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) seemingly content to use his length on the outside. Dariush scored with the first big strike of the bout, cracking Vick to the ribs with a kick. Moments later, an accidental eye poke from Vick brought a halt to the action.

Dariush pressured in with a big left hand, only to be poked in the eye once again.

After recovering, Dariush tagged Vick and dropped him to the floor. The pressure didn’t stop from Dariush with more punches to Vick’s face piling up. Another Dariush left hand put Vick on rubber legs, and after a flurry, another dropped him to the canvas unconscious at the 4:16 mark of Round 1.

“That win was about a lot of things,” Dariush said. “It was about being redeemed. I had been feeling stagnant and I’ve been praying for something to change, and God gave me that something. I hope it’s not anger. I hope it’s spirit. I train with a lot of spirit, and hopefully that’s just transitioning into the octagon, as well. I don’t care who’s next. I don’t care about rankings. Just keep throwing them at me and I’ll fight them all.”

Up-to-the-minute UFC 199 results include:

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(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan contributed to this report on site in California.)