JACK Marshman was “over the moon” after making a winning start to his Ultimate Fighting Championship career on Saturday night.

The 26-year-old soldier from Abertillery delivered a superb performance at the SSE Arena in Belfast with a second-round stoppage of Sweden’s Magnus Cedenblad.

Marshman went into the middleweight contest with 20 wins from 25 pro bouts, but his opponent had won four in a row in the UFC and was predicted by many to make it five on the bounce.

But the Welshman had other ideas and he followed up a flash knockdown of the Swede in round one by forcing a technical knockout in the next.

Marshman’s triumph at UFC Fight Night 99 came after Swansea’s Brett Johns had beaten South Korean Kwan Ho Kwak via a unanimous decision.

The two men are the first from Wales to take part in the UFC, an American promotion that features the best mixed martial arts exponents in the world.

“I’m over the moon,” said an emotional Marshman after his successful debut. “It’s an amazing feeling and the crowd are nuts for the Welsh.

“I topped the prelim card in my first fight in the UFC, fought a guy who was on a four-fight win streak, and knocked him out in the second round, which was the round I said I was going to knock him out in.

“You can’t get much of a better feeling than I’ve got right now – I’m ecstatic.

“After I get a few more fights I’ll start calling guys out. There’s a ton of people in front of me, give me whoever, I feel like I’m one of the best of them.”

Marshman’s three-round clash with Cedenblad began with the former dropping his rival, but the 34-year-old from Stockholm recovered to get back on terms.

A Cedenblad elbow opened up a cut around Marshman’s left eye and continued to apply the pressure for the remainder of the round.

Both landed some clean shots at the start of the second session, with blood pouring from Marshman’s eye wound.

All of the Welshman’s training with Richard Shore at Tillery Combat then paid off, a right-left combination knocking Cedenblad down once more.

From that point on former Cage Warrior world champion Marshman dominated the fight, controlling the octagon and putting Cedenblad on the canvas again.

The Swede tried to defend himself but Marshman, nicknamed 'Hammer', pummelled him with more shots until referee Leon Edwards stepped in to save Cedenblad any more punishment.

Marshman, who signed a four-fight deal with the UFC, is now eyeing up London next March for his second outing.