Makwan Amirkhani may have saved his job earlier today (Sat., Mar. 19, 2022) at UFC London live on ESPN+ from inside O2 Arena in London, England, when the featherweight veteran ended a three-fight losing streak to stop Mike Grundy with an anaconda choke just 57 seconds into the first round.
:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23314225/UFC_London.jpeg)
LIVE! Stream UFC ‘London’ On ESPN+
The wait is over! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to O2 Arena in London, England, on March 19, 2022, for the first time in two years led by a hard-hitting Heavyweight showdown between top-ranked division contenders, Alexander Volkov (No. 6) and Tom Aspinall (No. 11). In the UFC ‘London’ co-main event, Dan Hooker returns to Featherweight action against Arnold Allen, while up-and-coming English striking sensation, Paddy Pimblett, locks horns with Rodrigo Vargas.
Both fighters are extremely good wrestlers, but it was still surprising to see Grundy level change and shoot inside in the opening seconds of the fight. Amirkhani quickly grabbed a hold of his neck and locked up the choke. Grundy tried to survive, but once Amirkhani secured his leg and started to crank Grundy went out cold and the referee had to step in.
Check out the video highlights above courtesy of UFC/ESPN.
Amirkhani, 33, needed a big in the worst way and did exactly that. “Mr. Finland” is one of the more talented grapplers in the UFC’s featherweight division and he showed that against a gritty fighter like Grundy. This should buy Amirkhani some time moving forward and allow him to try to work his way towards the division’s top 15.
For complete UFC London results and coverage click here.