Fighters from around the globe dream of the day they’ll step into the UFC octagon for the first time. For one athlete, Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 28 event marked that special moment in his career.

Check out this week’s rookie report to see what kind of first impression he made on the sport’s biggest stage from Ginasio Nilson Nelson in Brasilia, Brazil.

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David Dvorak

Division: Flyweight
Result: David Dvorak def. Bruno Silva via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Record: (18-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC)
Grade: C+

Riding a 13-fight, 13-finish winning streak, David Dvorak headed into Brasilia with an air of confidence despite stepping in on short notice. That belief was evident as he went to work against Bruno Silva in their early preliminary card bout.

Dvorak looked calm and composed through the early exchanges and didn’t allow the adrenaline rush of his octagon debut to lure him into a wild start. Instead, he worked the outside and kept Silva (10-5-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) on the end of his reach advantage for most of the first half of the opening round. By the middle of his first five minutes in the octagon, the Czech had connected with a host of punches, found his range with kicks to the legs and body, and stuffed a pair of the Brazilan’s takedown attempts.

But Dvorak had to weather a storm in the final minute of the round. He ate a huge kick to the face and was taken the mat as the Brazilian made the first serious breakthrough of the fight. Replays showed the kick landed flush and with power, but the Czech’s chin check held up and he came back looking untroubled at the start of Round 2.

Dvorak battled on equal terms with Silva throughout a closely contested second round, and narrowly missed with a jumping knee in the final seconds of the frame as he pushed the pace and showed that he was still looking to add to his impressive finish streak.

With Dvorak needing a big third round to give himself a shot at victory, the Czech looked to load up early, but was immediately taken to the ground. Impressively, he reversed position and, after getting back to his feet, punished Silva with solid knees to the body. Dvorak continued to push the pace, switching stances as he started to find a home for his strikes at the half-way point in the round. “Undertaker” poured on the pressure for the remainder of the final round in a desperate bid to score a late finish, but he just couldn’t quite land the knockout shot to secure victory as the bout went to the judges’ scorecards.

That strong final round proved decisive as he took the win on all three scorecards with scores of 29-28. The fact he didn’t get the finish may have contributed to his surprise at hearing his name after going all the way to the scorecards, but his grit, constant forward pressure and willingness to leave it all in the octagon should ensure he gets another solid booking in his next matchup.