[autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] continues to show why he might be the next big thing at heavyweight.
At UFC Fight Night 185 on Saturday, Aspinall defeated former UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Andrei Arlovski[/autotag] by submission with a rear-naked choke at 1:09 of the second round.
The heavyweight bout opened up the UFC Fight Night 185 main card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It streamed on ESPN+.
Early in Round 1, Arlovski (30-20 MMA, 19-14 UFC) appeared to be in trouble. With his back up against the fence, Arlovski absorbed dozens of Aspinall (10-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) punches to the head and body. Somehow he survived and fought out the second half of Round 1.
Tom Aspinall teed off on Andrei Arlovski, who survived the early onslaught 😯 #UFCVegas19 pic.twitter.com/JyE8g4Iy2G
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 21, 2021
In Round 2, Aspinall switched it up. He charged and tackled Arlovski to the mat against the fence. Aspinall quickly moved to the back where he locked in a rear-naked choke. Within seconds, Arlovski tapped and the fight was over.
Tom Aspinall sunk in the lightning quick choke 🤯 #UFCVegas19 pic.twitter.com/NQIk1MmqVO
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 21, 2021
With the victory, Aspinall extends his overall winning streak to six. Prior to UFC Fight Night 185, Aspinall had picked up quick UFC wins by TKO over Alan Baudot and Jake Collier.
As for Arlovski, the loss snaps a two-fight winning streak. The 42-year-old has lost three out of his most recent six outings. This was just the second by submission in his 22-year career.
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 185 results include:
- Tom Aspinall def. Andrei Arlovski via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:09
- Jared Gordon def. Danny Chavez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- John Castaneda def. Eddie Wineland via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:44
- Julian Erosa def. Nate Landwehr via TKO (flying knee) – Round 1, 0:56
- Casey O’Neill def. Shana Dobson via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:41
- Aiemann Zahabi def. Drako Rodriguez via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 3:05
- Serghei Spivac def. Jared Vanderaa via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:32