Australia’s own Tyson Pedro made short work of Saparbek Safarov tonight in the main card opener of UFC 221, finishing him with a kimura submission in the first round set up by an excellent sweep.
Round One:
Early leg kick for Safarov. He wings an overhand right. Jab for Pedro. Safarov in on an early takedown and brings Pedro to the mat against the cage.
Pedro uses the cage to stand back up and moves out of danger. Pedro works the jab and then lands a nice knee. He tries for a front kick to the body, but it’s caught by Safarov, who attempts to take him down but is unsuccessful.
Big right hand from Pedro hurts Safarov, but he takes it. Pedro has the power advantage here and is putting it to good effect early as he works punches and knees to good effect.
Safarov hunting for another takedown as quickly as possible and ducks into a takedown attempt. However, then Pedro sets up a kimura sweep and brings his opponent to the mat and rolls him over, then puts a leg around Safarov’s head as he cranks on the submission and forces the tapout with 3.54mins of the first round gone!
