Spectacular takedown and rear choke: Makhachev defeated Moises ahead of schedule at UFC Vegas 31

The debut in the main fight of the evening is an important event for any representative of mixed martial arts and may well become defining for his further career in the promotion. Based on the results of the tournament, one can judge how many people a particular fighter is able to attract to the screens, and how many of them are willing to pay to watch his performance. In addition, the athlete also demonstrates whether he is ready to be fully involved in all kinds of media events, not to lose concentration and continue to win. And for Islam Makhachev, such a test was supposed to be a fight with Thiago Moises at UFC Vegas 31.

On the one hand, Makhachev was lucky. Despite all the achievements, Moises could hardly be called the most dangerous of possible opponents. On the eve of the tournament, he was ranked 14th and has already shown that he has serious gaps in preparation. Beneil Dariush, without any special problems and fears, laid the holder of the black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu on the flooring, where he undividedly dominated (44: 8 in shots), and Damir Ismagulov interrupted in the standing position. Yes, successes in recent battles hinted at solid progress, but the level of the opponents was completely different. Therefore, it is unambiguous to assume that Thiago did not succeed in taking a step forward.

On the other hand, a meeting with not the most stellar counterpart not only negatively affected the level of excitement, but also imposed additional responsibility on Makhachev.

In such conditions, he needed not only to defeat Moises, but to do it brightly, confidently and ahead of schedule - as in the battle with Drew Dober.

Islam himself probably understood this, although he noted that it might be useful for him to work out all the five rounds.

The beginning of the fight was not the brightest and hardly corresponded to its status.

Although Makhachev pressed the opponent, he did not take particular risks, and the activity mainly came from Moises.

He often tried to kick, and later even initiated a clinch.

True, this was hardly a good decision: Thiago could not drag Islam to the ground, but received several unpleasant knee blows to the body.

Makhachev's plan was clear: for most of the round, he wanted to work in a relatively calm manner, and then take the ending. He did the same in both the first and second five minutes. The key role was played by takedown, wrestling skills and excellent control on the ground, which did not allow the Brazilian to show his Jiu-Jitsu skills. On the contrary, Islam itself was close to throwing an armbar, but he simply did not have enough time.

The third round turned out to be not the most successful for Makhachev, especially as regards the ending. The heir of Khabib Nurmagomedov again did a good job in the rack, but then allowed Moises to "tie" himself in the clinch, and later almost fell on the knee lever. Looking at Islam, it was clear that he was in control of the situation. However, Thiago continued to frantically twist his opponent's ankle, hoping to either still force him to surrender or injure him.

Perhaps it was Moises' small success that provoked Makhachev to take more active steps in the fourth segment. A series of precision hits in the standing position was the perfect preparation for the leg pass. The Russian lifted the Brazilian on his shoulder, but did not print it into the canvas, but neatly laid it next to the net. Thiago's desperate attempts to get to his feet only drove him into a trap. He even managed to roll over, but only launched Islam behind his back, and after a few seconds he allowed him to close the lock on his neck. The 14th number in the rating had no choice but to surrender.

At the end of the fight, Makhachev paid tribute to Moises and said that it was not easy for him to win the eighth consecutive victory in the UFC, and then turned to his competitors in the division. Islam in a funny manner asked the former lightweight Paul Felder why other fighters avoid meeting him, and then expressed his readiness to fight any of them in three to four months. Thus, the Russian hinted that he not only plans to hold another fight in 2021, but also expects to do so in October-November.

In addition to the main battle, the Las Vegas tournament was remembered for a number of early victories. Of the first three fights of the evening, only one ended with a knockout, but subsequently five fighters immediately decided not to wait for the decision of the judges. Among them was Abubakar Nurmagomedov's failed rival, Daniel Rodriguez, who left no chance for Preston Parsons, who came out on short notice. Rodriguez knocked his opponent down with a series of powerful blows, and finishing off became a matter of technique.

The bloody confrontation between Billy Quarantillo and Gabriel Benitez ended in a curious way. Already in the first round, the American knocked down his counterpart and had a colossal advantage for most of the battle. This was especially evident in the parterre, where the holder of the black belt in BJJ easily walked behind his back and rained a hail of blows on the Mexican's head. He managed to briefly turn the tide of the battle only in the opening of the third five-minute, but his well-aimed hit in the jaw, although it knocked the opponent down, did not lead to anything more serious.

Quarantillo, on the other hand, made his way back to the back mount (dominant position from behind) and continued to strike one blow to the head of Benitez after another.

As a result, the Mexican developed extensive bleeding and a number of hematomas.

Referee Mark Smith watched him beat for a long time, but eventually decided to intervene.

Rodolfo Vieira and Mateus Hamroth prevailed early, but both succeeded in submission.

Moreover, the Brazilian lost the first two rounds to Dustin Stolzfuss and was on the verge of defeat when he caught the American on a rear naked choke.

In turn, it took the Pole only 65 seconds to give a kimura (arm submission) to the veteran of the Absolute Fighting Championship - Jeremy Stevens.

The return to the octagon of Misha Tate was also memorable.

The former UFC and Strikeforce champion retired after being defeated by Raquel Pennington in November 2016 before being promoted to vice president of Singapore-based ONE FC.

It would seem that a highly paid job was supposed to distract her from the battles, but after the birth of her second child, the athlete again wanted to perform.

And the fight with Marion Reno demonstrated that Tate is still able to compete on equal terms with the top fighters of the UFC.

In the first round, the ex-champion got used to it for some time, after which she literally swept her opponent off the cage.

In three rounds, she spent three takedowns and delivered more than twice as many significant strikes (65:25), and in the final five minutes she caught her opponent by surprise on the ground.

As a result - a victory by technical knockout.