'The nastiest I’ve ever seen!' UFC fighter Niko Price flatlines James Vick with sensational upkick KO (VIDEO)

Niko Price handed James Vick his fourth successive defeat in the cage in Tampa on Saturday night after he landed a stunning upkick to the jaw of his opponent, the second such time he's won a fight via KO from his back.

The finish came at 1:44 in the first round after a scramble on the ground in which Price landed a heel shot to Vick's jaw as he postured up after a brief scramble on the ground.

The shot collapsed Vick forward on top of Price before referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop the fight.

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The win is Price's sixth in the UFC, with all of them coming by knockout or submission. Vick, meanwhile, has come up short in what was his welterweight debut after dropping three straight in the lightweight division - with three of those four losses coming by way of knockout.

The win brings back memories of Price's victory against Randy Brown last year in which he won by hammer-fist punches from the bottom. 

"Wherever they’re at, I hit you. I don't care," Price said after the fight, addressing the unorthodox nature of his finishes. "Fighting’s not a technique. You just fight. Be a dog, get in it!"

Vick remained prone on the canvas for several moments after the blow and had to be told by his team why the fight had concluded and will now face questions as to his future in the UFC after a downturn in his recent performances. 

The move to welterweight was intended to lift the strain that the 6 ft 3in fighter had in making the lightweight limit, but with similar results now appearing a division above at 170-pounds, the Texan has faced calls to retire. 

Price, meanwhile, successfully rebounds from a knockout defeat to Geoff Neal in July and learned after the fight that his handiwork had earned him a $50,000 performance bonus. Not bad for less than two minutes' work.