5 UFC records you have probably never heard of

#3 Fastest submission – Oleg Taktarov vs. Anthony Macias (9 seconds)

UFC legend Oleg Taktarov holds the record for the UFC's fastest submission

This one’s a controversial one indeed. While it’s a well-known fact that Duane ‘Bang’ Ludwig officially holds the record for the fastest knockout in UFC history with his 6-second 2006 finish of Jonathan Goulet, fewer people probably realise that the record for the fastest submission in UFC history dates all the way back to 1995 and UFC 6.

That’s likely because of the shroud of mystery that still surrounds Oleg Taktarov’s guillotine choke tapout of Anthony Macias. Russia’s Taktarov, considered a sambo expert by the UFC, was entered into the UFC 6 tournament and had qualified for the semi-finals by submitting Dave Beneteau with a guillotine earlier in the night.

He was supposed to face Patrick Smith in the semis, but instead found himself faced with alternate Macias due to an injury to Smith. And here’s where the controversy comes in; Macias shared a manager with Taktarov and when he was submitted so quickly, cries of “fix” immediately began – even from announcers Jeff Blatnick and Jim Brown.

In the years that have followed, Macias has claimed he was forced to throw the fight by his manager, and while it’s never been proven, the fact that this fight does appear to represent a rare example of a “worked” bout in the UFC likely explains why Taktarov’s record isn’t often mentioned.