Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight fighters Tyson Pedro and Saparbek Safarov kicked off the UFC 221 pay-per-view (PPV) main card action tonight (Sat., Feb. 10, 2018) from inside Perth Arena in Perth, Australia, with both fighters looking to return to the win column after tough losses in their most recent bouts.
Safarov — who has not seen mixed martial arts (MMA) competition since Dec. 2016 — came out aggressive, but ultimately was forced to tap to a kimura submission as the first round came to a close.
Safarov immediately looked to get the fight on the ground, securing a takedown early in the first round. Pedro, though, was able battle back to his feet and return to the center of the Octagon. Pedro landed a nice knee to Safarov’s face and then a few follow up jabs before backing him up against the cage with a violent shot. Pedro continued to pour on the offense, drilling Safarov with hard shots, including a right hand to the temple that seemed to wobble him a bit. He was eventually able to mush Pedro up against the fence, where he angled for a standing kimura. He soon dropped to the ground with the kimura still locked in, stepping over Safarov’s head on the ground and locking in the submission even tighter. Safarov rolled and struggled to break free, but Pedro had the hold deep. And rather than snap, Safarov decided to tap to a super creative and dynamic kimura submission.
It was an impressive performance for the local fan-favorite, who revealed in his post-fight interview that he was going to drink generous amounts of beer and give his body time to recover from an undisclosed injury.
Sounds like a well-deserved plan.
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