'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Coming just one week before a major pay-per-view, this weekend’s UFC Fight Night was going largely ignored – partially due to its thrown-together main event.
UFC Fight Night: Islam Makhachev vs. Bobby Green turned out to be a solid, if slightly unspectacular, show with several explosive finishes.
While the event was short on actual standing knockouts, that didn’t make it short on brutality, meaning there was a lot on tap to enjoy.
Here are the five most explosive moments from UFC Fight Night: Islam Makhachev vs. Bobby Green.
#5: Terrance McKinney moves to 2-0 in the UFC with a beautiful submission
After he needed just seven seconds to knock out Matt Frevola on his UFC debut, hopes were high for Terrance McKinney’s second trip to the octagon.
Facing off with a more experienced opponent in the form of Fares Ziam, ‘T-Wrecks’ did not disappoint with an excellent showing. If anything, he proved that submissions can be just as explosive as knockouts.
Within the fight’s opening moments, McKinney rushed Ziam and quickly took him to the ground. And from there, it was clear that his athleticism and skills gave him a big advantage over the Frenchman.
After quickly establishing a dominant position in the form of a full mount, McKinney hit a beautiful transition when Ziam attempted to escape, taking his back with a body triangle while seamlessly hunting for a rear naked choke.
Seconds later, ‘T-Wrecks’ had the submission locked up. Despite the fact that it appeared to be sunk at a weird angle, Ziam was forced to submit. Given that he hadn’t tapped out since 2016, this was a highly impressive way for the prospect to win.
More to the point, the victory was McKinney’s fifth in a row, and given that all five of those wins ended in finishes, it’s clear that ‘T-Wrecks’ is up there with the lightweight division’s most explosive prospects – making him a must-see attraction whenever he hits the octagon.
#4: Ignacio Bahamondes busts out a rare choke to take out Rong Zhu
The last time UFC fans saw Ignacio Bahamondes in action, he ended the night of Roosevelt Roberts with a spinning wheel kick. It was a surprise to see the Chilean fighter not showcased on last night’s main card.
In the end, though, ‘La Jaula’ was still able to pick up one of the event’s most explosive finishes. He even managed to deliver another low-percentage move for the victory – submitting Rong Zhu with a slick brabo choke.
While it took Bahamondes until the third round to take out his Chinese foe, it was clear from the off that the fight was essentially his to lose. Standing at 6’1”, ‘La Jaula’ towered over his opponent and immediately made that reach count, as he largely kept Rong at the end of his strikes.
It was clear by the third round that Rong needed to switch things up. When he attempted to do so with a takedown, Bahamondes immediately stuffed the shot and quickly locked up the choke. Moments later, the Chinese fighter was forced to tap.
Incredibly, this was the first submission win of Bahamondes’ MMA career – making the fact that he used a rare choke variant to pull it off even more impressive. Right now at least, it seems the sky is the limit for him in the UFC.
#3: Arman Tsarukyan opens up Joel Alvarez in one of the UFC’s bloodiest fights
Outside of last night’s main event, the lightweight bout between Arman Tsarukyan and Joel Alvarez definitely felt like the best fight on the UFC Vegas 49 card.
Alvarez was coming into the fight off the back of four straight wins in the octagon. Meanwhile Tsarukyan was recognised as the dark horse of the lightweight division thanks to his own four-fight win streak and his close bout with Islam Makhachev.
The fight indeed delivered some excellent action, but when it was all said and done, it was Tsarukyan who came away with the win – and he claimed it in violent and bloody fashion.
Clearly sensing the striking threat of Alvarez, Tsarukyan wasted no time in taking him to the ground. From there, the Armenian fighter began to feed him a nasty diet of elbows.
One of those elbows opened the Spaniard up like he’d been hit with a machete, and from there, ‘El Fenomeno’ was in serious trouble. Blood gushing from his head like a faucet, it was a minor miracle that he survived the round.
Sadly for him, he didn’t survive the second. Tsarukyan again took him down to begin the stanza and began to destroy him with strikes again, reopening the cut and painting the mat red with blood. It came as no surprise to see referee Chris Tognoni step in at the two minute mark.
This wasn’t as explosive as Tsarukyan’s standing knockout of Christos Giagos, but it was horrifically brutal in its own way. This showing cemented the Armenian’s spot as the most dangerous man outside the top ten at 155lbs right now.
#2: Wellington Turman ends Misha Cirkunov’s night with a sudden armbar
Submissions are often seen as a less explosive finish than a knockout, usually because they tend to be set up in slower fashion – particularly if they come following a period in a dominant position.
However, Wellington Turman’s armbar victory over Misha Cirkunov at UFC Vegas 49 was the exact opposite. While he didn’t leave Cirkunov with an injury or anything like that, it was definitely an explosive finish from the Brazilian.
Early on in the fight, things certainly didn’t appear to be going Turman’s way. He did attempt a standing rear-naked choke in the first round. But when Cirkunov escaped that position, he took over the fight with some heavy shots on the ground and then attempted a choke of his own that didn’t quite work.
The Latvian-Canadian appeared to be in control going into the second round, but after tripping Turman up, he simply failed to protect his arm adequately. And in unbelievably rapid fashion, the Brazilian locked the limb up and forced him to tap out.
The victory won’t move Turman into title contention at 185lbs, but it does put him on his first win streak inside the octagon, and it was also his first finish there. For Cirkunov, though, it may signal the end of his UFC career.
More to the point, the beautiful – and ridiculously sudden – armbar was enough to give Turman a $50k bonus cheque, meaning this was probably the best night of his career thus far.
#1: Islam Makhachev cements his spot as the UFC’s most dangerous lightweight with a beatdown of Bobby Green
Okay, so it wasn’t a brutal standing knockout or a limb-wrenching submission, but Islam Makhachev’s first round win over Bobby Green was definitely explosive in its own way – and should be enough to net him a shot at the UFC lightweight title.
The most explosive moment of the fight, in fact, was arguably Makhachev’s takedown. After eating a couple of strikes from Green and throwing a few of his own, the Dagestani shot on a double leg in remarkably quick fashion – and dumped ‘King’, a high level wrestler in his own right, to the ground.
From there, the fight was simply a mauling. Green was unable to get to his feet, and suffered a pretty bad beatdown until referee Herb Dean stepped in to call the fight off in an excellent stoppage.
Was this as explosive a victory as Makhachev’s previous ones over Dan Hooker or Gleison Tibau, for instance? Definitely not, but it was hugely impressive – and violent – in its own right, particularly given the potential stylistic issues Green provided for him.
Overall, the win was an impressive one – and cemented Makhachev’s position as the most dangerous lightweight contender in the world right now.
