Luana Santos predicted and achieved a first-round submission victory over Mariya Agapova with a rear-naked choke at UFC Denver, marking her fifth consecutive win.
Luana Santos predicted a finish and got it.
The Brazilian grappler told MMA Fighting that she sensed a submission win coming. Santos achieved just that with a perfectly executed rear-naked choke in the first round of her fight with Mariya Agapova at UFC Denver on Saturday.
Watch the finishing sequence below, which had Agapova spitting out her mouthpiece as she tapped out.
Santos showed off her judo with an impressive throw that brought the fight to the mat. Agapova proved to be at a major disadvantage there. After an arm-triangle choke attempt failed, Santos transitioned to take Agapova’s back. She wrapped up the fight-ending choke on her flailing opponent.
The official time of the stoppage was 3:27 into Round 1.
That’s five straight wins now for Santos (8-1). Including a perfect 3-0 mark in the UFC.
Santos made a successful return to the flyweight division after coming in over the bantamweight limit for her previous fight. An error she attributed to a rare disease.
Agapova (10-5) was returning from a lengthy 665-day layoff. She has now lost three straight fights and four of her past five.