Muslim Salikhov may have been the favorite heading into UFC Shanghai, but Alex Garcia was happy to prove the oddsmakers wrong.
Muslim Salikhov had garnered a great amount of hype leading into his promotional debut at UFC Shanghai. The Dagestani striker is appropriately known as “The King of Kung Fu” with multiple world titles in Sanshou, a Chinese martial art. Salikhov was 12-1 in his MMA career with 11 stoppages, all in the first round, coming in to UFC Fight Night 122.
Alex Garcia is an imposing figure standing at 5-feet 9-inches tall with seemingly 170 pounds of muscle. His UFC career had hit a bit of a snag recently though, losing three of his last five fights after earning wins in his first two bouts with the promotion.
Opening up the main card of UFC Fight Night 122, the fight simply didn’t go as Salikhov had no doubt hoped. While finding some success on the feet, Garcia had the clear edge on the ground. Taking things down early in the first round, it was a sign of things to come. Garcia worked to step into side control from half guard, and eventually found mount. Salikhov would escape, and launch a spinning back fist that was blocked. He’d shore up his takedown defense, stuffing Garcia’s next takedown attempt, but that would not last.
In the second, Garcia once again got the fight to the ground, and this time he made no mistake. Pulling Salikhov’s legs out from under him in a double leg, then taking the back, he soon had the rear-naked choke locked in, upsetting the newcomer’s big debut.
Alex Garcia def. Muslim Salikhov by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 3:22
