The main-card grudge match that got lots of attention delivered good action and saw Makwan Amirkhani tap out Chris Fishgold.
Amirkhani (15-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC) submitted Fishgold (18-3-1 MMA, 1-2 UFC) with a second-round anaconda choke and got the tap at the 4:25 mark of the middle frame.
The feahterweight bout was part of the main card of Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 11 event at Ericcson Globe in Stockholm. It streamed on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN2.
There was a lots of online back-and-forth and fight week tension going into the encounter, and in the octagon the fighters went after each other. Amirkhani seemed to be a step ahead all along, though, and capitalized on a grappling mistake from Fishgold during the second frame and secured an anaconda choke. Fishgold did his best to resist and escape, but he had to give in at the 4:25 mark.
“I’m a professional MMA fighter. I call myself a pro fighter, and I came to perform as a pro fighter,” Amirkhani said. “That was what I was thinking throughout the fight. I wanted to give the fans what they came to see. My idea was to make him tired. I saw that he gets tired easily and I’m in the best shape of my life, even though I have been away for a year. That was my plan: Get comfortable in the octagon and whenever I see an opportunity, take it, get the paycheck and go home.”
Giagos outworks Hadzovic for upset
Christos Giagos (17-7 MMA, 3-3 UFC) continued to show improvements in his second UFC stint when he picked apart Damir Hadzovic (13-5 MMA, 3-3 UFC) over the course of three rounds to take a unanimous decision in the lightweight bout.
Giagos produced a well-rounded performance of offense in landing precise shots on the feet and setting a new personal best with six takedowns. Hadzovic showed remarkable durability in taking some big shots and always trying to answer back, but he couldn’t disrupt the flow of Giagos long enough to avoid the decision loss by scores of 29-27, 29-27 and 29-28.
“I felt great tonight,” Giagos said. “I had a really good camp – along and hard one. I pretty much did everything I trained for: the striking, I finally threw kicks, I went for the takedowns. I wish I had gotten to show a little bit more of my jiu-jitsu, but I think my gloves were too tight. My grip strength was completely shot. But besides that, everything went perfect.
“I’m here to stay. I just proved myself versus a guy who is coming from two wins, so I’m definitely here to stay and I’m down for any challenge.”
Teymur gets emotional first UFC victory
Daniel Teymur (7-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC) finally got his first UFC victory, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Performing in his home country, the Swede upset previously unbeaten newcomer Sung Bin Jo (9-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) by unanimous decision in their featherweight matchup.
Jo, who hails from South Korea, came into the fight in great shape and with high expectations. He had his moments, but Teymur’s experience advantage on the sport’s biggest stage became increasingly evident as the fight wore on, though, because he was able to use veteran tactics such as timely takedowns and accurate strikes to take the 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 nod on the scorecards. Afterward, Teymur was overcome with emotion to get his first UFC win.
“I’m happy to be achieving my goals,” Teymur said. “I work really hard for this. I went to the other side of the world to train. I left my wife home alone for one, two months. With all of this, If I don’t give everything I have, if I don’t leave it all in the octagon, then I’m not a really good man. So I gave my all and I’m really happy. I can’t explain. I can’t put it into words, especially being in Sweden. I want to tell you all I worked really, really hard for this. Nothing comes for free. You have to work. I know Bin Jo is tough, but what can I say? I’m tougher.”
For complete coverage of UFC on ESPN+ 11, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
