Devonte Smith hurt ”Maestro” Dong Hyun Kim late in the opening round, then finished with an emphatic burst to remove all doubt.

After stinging him on the feet, it was a flurry of hammerfists from Smith (9-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) as Kim (16-9-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) lay face-down on the mat that forced the TKO stoppage at the 3:53 mark of Round 1.

The lightweight bout served as the featured ESPN prelim at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia. It followed prelims on UFC Fight Pass and preceded the pay-per-view main card.

From the opening moments of the bout, it seemed clear that Smith would likely be the faster man in this match-up. He darted in and out, frustrating Kim’s attempts to get any offense started, all while occasionally battering his calf with low kicks.

A little more than midway through the round, Smith convinced Kim to go walking into a two-punch combination that clearly hurt him, and from there it was only a matter of time.

After a solid left hook to the jaw, a straight right from Smith let the lunging Kim staring down at the canvas. From there, a few hammerfists behind the ear sealed the deal beyond all doubt, forcing referee Herb Dean to jump in and call it off.

Smith has now won six in a row, including two straight in the UFC. Kim’s loss snaps a three-fight winning streak.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 234 results include

• Devonte Smith def. “Maestro” Dong Hyun Kim via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:53
• Shane Young def. Austin Arnett via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Kai Kara-France def. Raulian Paiva via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Kyung Ho Kang def. Teruto Ishihara via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:59
• Jalin Turner def. Callan Potter via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:53
• Jonathan Martinez def. Wuliji Buren via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

For complete coverage of UFC 234, visit the UFC events section of the site.