Steven Adams, right, with his Oklahoma City Thunder team-mates at UFC Brooklyn at the Barclays Center in New York on Sunday.

Steven Adams was ringside for a UFC event just hours after helping his side beat the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Kiwi NBA star and some of his Oklahoma City Thunder team-mates, including Russell Westbrook and Paul George, celebrated their 117-115 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia by flying to New York to take ringside seats for UFC Brooklyn.

The team made the 151-kilometre journey to New York immediately after Sunday's (NZ time) win as they play the New York Knicks in New York on Tuesday (NZ time).

GETTY IMAGES Henry Cejudo (right) fights against TJ Dillashaw on Sunday.

They watched on at the Barclays Center as UFC flyweight champion Henry Cejudo scored a punishing first-round win over bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw.

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It was a case of champ vs. champ being over in less than a minute.

Dillashaw, the 135-pound champ, had cut some serious weight in his attempt to hold championships in two weight classes. Cejudo was a buzzsaw and stopped the fight at 32 seconds of the first round for the fastest finish ever in a flyweight championship fight.

UFC President Dana White wrapped the new title belt around Cejudo's waist. Cejudo might not get another title defense. Cejudo defeated longtime champion Demetrious Johnson to win the belt and reign in a division that has drawn scant interest with fans or serious contenders in the class.

Cejudo-Dillashaw was the main event on ESPN on the first card of a $1.5 billion, five-year contract on ESPN networks.

AP TJ Dillashaw reacts after losing on Sunday.

Cejudo said "this win was for the flyweights" and offered to move up to 135 pounds to fight Dillashaw again - this time for Dillashaw's title.

Earlier, troubled ex-NFL star Greg Hardy's UFC debut ended with a disqualification loss after he blasted Allen Crowder with an illegal knee to stop the fight in the second round.

Hardy was soundly booed from the moment he walked out to the octagon at Barclays Center for his first fight for the promotion. He connected on some solid blows in the first round and had answered Crowder's taunting in the second round with more heavy punches.

AP Greg Hardy is escorted by the referee after being disqualified on Sunday.

But with Crowder down on one knee, Hardy blasted him with a knee and referee Dan Miragliotta immediately separated the heavyweights. Hardy looked confused as medical staff quickly entered the cage and checked on Crowder.

Hardy slumped against the cage on the other side as the crowd erupted in boos and chanted profanities at the disgraced former Carolina Panther and Dallas Cowboy.

Hardy left the NFL after he was convicted of assaulting and threatening to kill a woman, with charges later dropped as officials said they couldn't locate the accuser and believed she reached a settlement with the athlete.

AP Greg Hardy illegally knees Allen Crowder on the head while the latter has his knee on the ground.

In other fights on the main card, Glover Teixeira choked out Karl Roberson in the first round, Joseph Benavidez defeated Dustin Ortiz by unanimous decision and Grego Gillespie had a second-round TKO win over Yancy Medeiros.

- Stuff, AP