UFC Pheonix spectators bore witness to an historic moment in the Octagon yesterday.
Veteran heavyweight, 39-year-old Aleksei Oliynyk has just become the first fighter in UFC history to beat his opponent with the rarest submission in the sport: The Ezekiel choke.
The Boa Constrictor, as he is aptly nicknamed, has notched 40 victories via submission in his career with a quarter of those earned using this very move…
Just over two minutes into the fight, Oliynyk’s opponent, Viktor Pesta easily mounted the Russian Constrictor and most people thought that was game over.
UFC light heavyweight champion and commentator, Daniel Cormier praised Pesta for using punches to move into the mount position when the Czech Republic native tapped.
He said:
This is great grappling; he’s just using those punches to move himself into the mount position but…
At that very moment, Pesta tapped out and pulled up from Oliynyk’s hidden choke hold looking utterly dazed and confused.
The second commentator, Jon Anik screamed in genuine surprise as Oliynyk scored the submission just 2 minutes and 57 seconds into the fight.
It just goes to show, brute force and young strength isn’t everything in MMA.
Sometimes clever tactics and agility of the mind will see fighters reign victorious.
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.