UFC 236 results: Nikita Krylov avenges loss to Ovince Saint Preux with second-round choke

Nikita Krylov evened the score with Ovince Saint Preux.

The two light heavyweight finishers met on the main card of UFC 236 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta in a rematch of their March 2014 encounter that Saint Preux won by submission in just under 90 seconds. This time it was Krylov who earned the submission victory, securing a rear-naked choke at the 2:30 mark of round two on Saturday.

Early on, it looked like this bout would be a repeat of their first encounter as “OSP” quickly dumped Krylov to the mat. However, Krylov showed improved grappling defense and though he couldn’t stop Saint Preux from dragging him to the mat, he kept control of Saint Preux’s head to prevent him from improving his position. Even a brief period of full mount for Saint Preux resulted in Krylov suffering minimal damage. Krylov was also getting the better of the standing exchanges, which may explain why Saint Preux was so eager to shoot in.

If Saint Preux was up on the scorecards after a round, it came with a price as he looked absolutely exhausted heading into the second frame. Smelling blood, Krylov took Saint Preux down and he quickly advanced to back position, slipped his hooks in, and attacked with the choke that Saint Preux could only withstand for so long before tapping out.

This was Krylov’s second fight since returning to the UFC last September at UFC Moscow, where he was submitted by Jan Blachowicz. He is now 7-4 overall in the promotion and 25-6 as a pro, with all of his fights ending in knockout or submission.

Saint Preux (11-8) has now lost three of his last four fights.