Wellington Turman secured the most notable victory of his career thus far Saturday when he tapped Misha Cirkunov in the UFC Fight Night 202 co-main event.
Turman (18-5 MMA, 3-3 UFC) kept Cirkunov (15-8 MMA, 6-6 UFC) out of the wins column in the middleweight division when he scored a submission victory in their bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
The Brazilian overcame some rough moments but pulled out a slick armbar from his back at the 1:29 mark of Round 2 to secure back-to-back victories under the UFC banner for the first time.
In the blink of an eye, @turmanmma finishes Cirkunov with a SLICK armbar 😱 #UFCVegas49 pic.twitter.com/qSx8jiFYlc
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 27, 2022
Cirkunov game out of the gat throwing hard punches. Turman slipped his way inside to the hips and transitioned around to take Cirkunov’s back from a standing position inside the first minute. Cirkunov did his best to remain composed, as Turman slipped his forearm under the neck. It looked like Cirkunov was done, but then he spun Turman off of him and pounded away with big punches from on top. He nearly locked in a north-south choke, but Turman survived and opted to take shots instead for the remainder of the round.
Turman looked fatigued to start the second round, and Cirkunov tried to take advantage by putting on pressure and shooting for the takedown. That move was his undoing, however, because Turman quickly threw his legs up for the armbar and forced Cirkunov to tap out in the blink of an eye.
The biggest win of @TurmanMMA's career 💪 #UFCVegas49 pic.twitter.com/CEqwN7cokU
— UFC (@ufc) February 27, 2022
The 25-year-old appears to be turning a corner now in his UFC career. He lost three of four octagon appearances to begin his tenure with the organization, but has now reeled off consecutive wins over Cirkunov and Sam Alvey.
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 202 results include:
- Wellington Turman def. Misha Cirkunov via submission (armbar) – Round 2, 1:29
- Priscila Cachoeira def. Ji Yeon Kim via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Arman Tsarukyan def. Joel Alvarez via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 1:57
- Armen Petrosyan def. Gregory Rodrigues via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
- Ignacio Bahamondes def. Rong Zhu via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 3, 1:40
- Josiane Nunes def. Ramona Pascual via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
- Josiane Nunes def. Ramona Pascual via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
- Terrance McKinney def. Fares Ziam via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:11
- Jonathan Martinez def. Alejandro Perez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Ramiz Brahimaj def. Micheal Gillmore via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:02
- Carlos Hernandez def. Victor Altamirano via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
