Misha Cirkunov looked like he was moments away from being finished, but a beautiful sweep and rare submission saw him instead claim a victory over a previously unbeaten Jimmy Crute.
The light heavyweight bout opened up the UFC on ESPN+ 16 main card at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The event streamed on ESPN+.
The two bangers wasted little time firing heavy kicks to open, but Cirkunov quickly changed levels and drove the action to the canvas, putting Crute on his back and advancing to side control. Crute was active on the canvas, working hard to escape, but Cirkunov was impressive on top, remaining heavy and briefly stepping over to mount. Undaunted, Crute powered his way back to his feet, and he then found himself in top position after an ensuing scramble.
Once in the dominant position, Crute started pounding away with strikes and looked like he might finish the fight. But a crafty Cirkunov was able to hit a beautifully timed sweep to the top, where he latched on to a Peruvian necktie, squeezing it in even as Crute tried to flip out of it. Cirkunov was nearly inverted in the position, but he maintained the hold and forced the tap at the 3:38 mark of the first round.
Cirkunov (15-5 MMA, 6-3 UFC) rebounds from a March loss to Johnny Walker, while Crute (10-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) loses for the first time as a professional.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN+ 16 results include:
- Misha Cirkunov def. Jim Crute via submission (Peruvian necktie) – Round 1, 3:38
- Augusto Sakai def. Marcin Tybura via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:59
- Miles Johns def. Cole Smith via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Hunter Azure def. Brad Katona via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
- Chas Skelly def. Jordan Griffin via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Louis Smolka def. Ryan MacDonald via TKO (punch) – Round 1, 4:43
- Austin Hubbard def. Kyle Prepolec via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
