Nicholas Lambaditis was fuelled by alcohol and anger when he hit Sydney's streets on November 3, 2013.
Barred entry from a pub, his anger turned to aggression.
Then, just after 3am, witnesses heard a loud crack as 34-year-old Brazilian Lucio Stein Rodrigues hit the pavement outside the CBD bar.
Two days later, he was pronounced dead.
In sentencing Lambaditis on Friday to at least six years and nine months in jail over the killing, Justice Peter Hall described the case as one of "alcohol-fuelled violence of a high order".
The Supreme Court heard Lambaditis had been out drinking at his cousin's bucks party on the night of the fatal attack.
After being refused entry into Scruffy Murphy's, he became aggressive, hurling insults at a security guard.
He thought he then heard Mr Rodrigues' friend Eric Heward say words to the effect of "keep walking".
Lambaditis turned on Mr Heward, asking "What the f*** did you say?" before striking him without warning.
Mr Rodrigues intervened to help his friend, punching Lambaditis once.
The violence escalated and Lambaditis threw a forceful punch, knocking Mr Rodrigues to the ground.
On November 5 he died from head injuries.
Justice Hall said the offence fell within "at least the mid-range", pointing to Lambaditis's angry and intoxicated state.
"Mr Heward and Mr Rodrigues were completely innocent bystanders who were unfortunate enough to be in the same place as the offender," Justice Hall said.
"The offender drew the deceased into a violent confrontation which was entirely of his own making."
He accepted Lambaditis was remorseful, with the 35-year-old having described his own actions as "reckless beyond measure".
Throughout the judgment, Justice Hall continuously referred to Kieran Loveridge who was convicted of the manslaughter of Sydney teenager Thomas Kelly - who died as a result of a single punch in July 2012.
Unlike Loveridge, Justice Hall said Lambaditis came from a supportive and loving family.
Outside the court the lawyer for Mr Rodrigues' family, Luana Torres, said they hope the sentence will bring them closer to some closure but know "they will never truly be free from what they feel".
"In death Lucio's organs have given life to six gravely ill people," she told reporters.
She said the family hope people think twice before going out, getting drunk and behaving in such an irresponsible and violent way.
"Let's not forget one punch can kill."
Mr Rodrigues's flatmate and friend Fabiana Faria, who was with Mr Heward at the sentencing on Friday, said they all miss him.
She still walks by his room and thinks of the 34-year-old.
"We are going to grieve for the rest of our lives."
Lambaditis was sentenced to a maximum of nine years and will be eligible for parole in August 2020.
It comes a day after Shaun McNeil was found not guilty of murder but guilty of the manslaughter of Sydney teenager Daniel Christie in a one-punch attack on New Year's Eve 2013.
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