The spirit of Aleksei Oleinik must have been present at Shanghai Indoor Stadium this morning, as Uran Satybaldiev pulled off a rare Ezekiel Choke -- and a rarer one that comes from the top position -- to open the UFC Shanghai preliminary card with a victory over Diyar Nurgozhay.
Satybaldiev troubled Nurgozhay in the fight's second minute, dropping Nurgozhay with a right hand. Satybaldiev didn't finish him with strikes, but he did lock on a tight kimura grip that looked like it could have broken Nurgozhay's arm and finished the fight.
Nurgozhay managed to escape that submission but found himself in further trouble when Satybaldiev got in top position and sought a choke. Though normally done from the bottom, Satybaldiev managed to position himself correctly to perform an Ezekiel choke from top position, scoring the tapout just halfway through the opening round.
Satybaldiev now becomes just the fourth fighter in UFC history to score an Ezekiel choke submission in a fight with the promotion, joining the likes of Oleinik, Remco Pardoel, and Alexander Volkov.
Uran Satybaldiev Becomes Fourth-Ever UFC Fighter To Score Win Via Ezekiel Choke Submission At UFC Shanghai
Satybaldiev, the former LFA light heavyweight champion, made his short-notice UFC debut at heavyweight in April, dropping a decision to Martin Buday.
Nurgozhay made his UFC debut in March, missing weight and getting submitted by Brendson Ribiero.