The feature bout of Dana White’s Contender Series 45 lived up to its top billing.
Undefeated middleweight Gadzhi Omargadzhiev took on Jansey Silva at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, as both were hoping to secure victory and potentially a contract to the UFC from Dana White.
As the two were engaged on the canvas, Omargadzhiev (13-0) began to grab a hold of Silva’s right leg. Initially, Silva (7-2) responded by landing a hard punch while his opponent was still locking in the hold, but it did not stop the attempt.
Omargadzhiev continued to crank, and had Silva’s leg bending all sorts of directions. A short moment later, he found the leverage he needed and cranked on the kneebar one last time, forcing a rapid tap from Silva.
Check out video of the submission below via Twitter.
🇷🇺 @Gadzhi_84MMA closing the show with a STATEMENT submission.
[ #DWCS | Tune in LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/4DCOnVmHMF
— UFC (@ufc) October 27, 2021
The hyperextension of the knee looked like it may have caused some structural damage to Silva, but at least he was able to return to his feet and leave the cage under his own power.
Omargadzhiev earned a UFC contract for his first round finish as White was impressed with his performance as an undefeated fighter with a world of potential in the middleweight division, even drawing compairson to former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
