Makwan Amirkhani submits Mike Grundy early at UFC London

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to us today, March 19, 2022, for UFC Fight Night 204, going down live from the O2 Arena in London, England.

Headlining the event is a heavyweight clash between former M-1 & Bellator champion Alexander Volkov (No. 6) and rising contender Tom Aspinall (No. 11).

Co-headlining the event is Dan Hooker’s return to the featherweight division, as he takes on No. 7 ranked Arnold Allen.

Our preliminary main event showcased a featherweight bout between veteran Makwan Amirkhani and Olympic freestyle wrestler Mike Grundy.

Amirkhani comes into this bout on a three-fight losing streak, while Grundy comes in having lost his last two.

Continue reading to see how this epic 145 lb contest went down:

Official Result: Makwan Amirkhani def. Mike Grundy via submission (anaconda choke) at :57 of round one

Grundy immediately shoots on a takedown once the fight starts, and Amirkhani chooses not to stuff it, but rather to lock up Grundy’s neck.

Initially he secures a guillotine choke, but adjusts it to an anaconda choke.

We all know Amirkhani’s front chokes are nasty, but Grundy was able to negate the attack for a little bit.

However, no matter how much he scrambled, switched sides, and tried to fight it off, it didn’t matter. Amirkhani’s lock is as tight as it gets.

Then, less than a minute into the opening stretch, Grundy is choked unconscious.

HOLY SHIT!! Makwan Amirkhani put Mike Grundy to SLEEP in under a minute!! 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/AACJEZJ2GO

— Follow @FTB_VIDS (@FTB_VIDS) March 19, 2022

Just like Paul Craig picked up his signature triangle choke victory tonight, Amirkhani secured his vintage anaconda choke on the same card two fights later.

Many of us were wondering, how is Amirkhani going to get this fight down to the mat against a wrestler of Grundy’s caliber, but the takedown was brought to him, making it his second easiest victory inside the UFC next to his promotional debut.

Makwan Amirkhani is such a fun talent to watch. He’s a very underrated wrestler, and his submission grappling is amongst some of the best in the sport. This is his fourth submission victory inside the octagon out of seven wins, and his third via anaconda choke.

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Brady Ordway

I became a fan of combat sports when I was 12 years old. I was scrolling through the channels and landed upon Versus, where WEC was televised. Urijah Faber fought Jens Pulver for the second time that night. That's the first fight I ever saw, and I was immediately hooked. So eventually, I began covering the sport in the fourth quarter of 2018, and have since started writing about animals as well. If you'd like to see those pieces, be sure to check out learnaboutnature.com!

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