David Zawada went into enemy territory and upset heavy favorite Abubakar Nurmagomedov with a triangle choke submission in the first-round at UFC Moscow.
Abubakar Nurmagomedov was set to make his octagon debut Saturday at UFC Moscow. A cousin of UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, Abubakar was a veteran of the PFL and WSOF, making it to the PFL semifinals in 2018 before being forced to withdraw due to a hand injury. A decorated combat sambo champion, Nurmagomedov would be in the spotlight when he took on Germany’s David Zawada.
Zawada entered the fight off back-to-back losses against Danny Roberts and Li Jingliang, and was still seeking his first win in the UFC. A heavy underdog, to say the least.
Here is how the action went down
Round 1
Zawada came out firing hard shots while his counterpart just stalked. When the German fighter overthrew a punch, the cousin of the UFC champion took him down with a double leg takedown. Nurmagomedov kept his adversary pinned against the canvas with heavy forward shoulder pressure but didn’t look to inflict much damage with strikes. Suddenly Zawada locked on a triangle choke. The Russian attempted to fight off the submission, but it was tight and he was forced to tap out! Nurmagomedov appeared to be devastated by the loss and it was Zawada who spent more time consoling his opponent than celebrating his first UFC win.
UPSET! 😱@DavidZawada forces Nurmagomedov to tap in round 1️⃣! #UFCMoscow pic.twitter.com/lQtqBO2QWj
— UFC (@ufc) November 9, 2019
The victory was the first for David Zawada in the UFC, who dropped his first two appearances, which both came back in 2018. Nurmagomedov, who closed as a -265 favorite, has now won only one of his last four bouts, going 1-2-1 in that span. Before his UFC debut, the 29-year-old Nurmagomedov was touted as one of the most gifted talents outside of the promotion.
Official Results: David Zawada def. Abubakar Nurmagomedov by submission (triangle choke), Round 1, 2:50.
