Pitting Travis Banks, one of the world’s most gifted strikers, against Joe Coffey, one of the steeliest sluggers going, resulted in a predictably brutal and hard-hitting affair. Banks and Coffey wailed on each other with strikes, forearm smashes and chops, but Coffey eventually gained the advantage, using his size and power to inflict damage on Banks’ lower back. Even though he absorbed tremendous punishment, The Kiwi Buzzsaw stayed in the fight, and amid a rapid exchange of big hits, Banks deftly rolled up Coffey to score a sudden pinfall.

Making good on his promise to “show no mercy,” Coffey was anything but gracious in defeat, as he ambushed Banks after the bell. Coffey demolished Banks with a discus lariat and ravaged his shoulder by smashing it into the steel ring post. As referees tended to Banks, Mauro Ranallo and Nigel McGuinness speculated about how the attack might diminish Banks’ chances against Zack Gibson in the tournament Final.