Misha Cirkunov picked up his fourth submission in the UFC on Saturday night but this time he used a choke rarely seen in the sport.
After engaging in a back and forth ground battle with previously undefeated prospect Jimmy Crute, Cirkunov was able to lock on a Peruvian necktie from the mount that forced the tap and earned him the victory at 3:38 into the opening round.
“The main thing for me was to stay calm,” Cirkunov said about the finish. “I can take a punch, I can take a kick, I can take all that. I’ll be back, I’ll show you great fights again.
After opening with some powerful strikes, Cirkunov swooped inside for a huge takedown to put Crute down on the canvas where he began working his ground attack. The Canadian based light heavyweight dismantled Crute’s defense as he advanced position into the crucifix and then into the mount.
Unfortunately, Cirkunov couldn’t hold Crute down and he was able to scramble free before he ended up in the top position. Crute began hammering down with a huge barrage of shots that appeared to have Cirkunov in trouble until he saw an opening to latch onto a leg to get a reversal of his own.
As the scrambling for position continued, Cirkunov saw an opening for a head lock, which then turned into a guillotine choke before finally transitioning into the Peruvian necktie.
From the brink of defeat, @MishaC911 reverses position, and gets the submission win! Wow! #UFCVancouver pic.twitter.com/wlYZWIEWP2
— UFC (@ufc) September 15, 2019
Once Cirkunov rolled into the mount and tightened the hold, the grimace on Crute’s face told the story as he was forced to tap out to stop the fight.
Once considered the best prospect in the 205 pound division, Cirkunov has faced plenty of ups and downs over the past couple of years but this latest win puts him back on track as he looks to begin the climb back up the top 15 rankings in the UFC.