A heavyweight showdown has been added to UFC 246, with submission machine Aleksei Oleinik facing off with TUF alum Maurice Greene.
The lord of the Ezekiel choke will return at UFC 246 in January. Aleksei Oleinik is set to take on Ultimate Fighter vet Maurice Greene at the event, a fight that was first reported by MMA Junkie. Oleinik subsequently confirmed the booking.
Oleinik (57-12-1) began fighting when Greene was all of ten years old, and has dozens more fights than the ‘Crochet Boss.’ Competing for over twenty years, ‘The Boa Constrictor’ holds 45 submission wins, which is more than four times the total number of professional fights Greene has appeared in.
Experience mismatch aside, Oleinik, at 42 years, is in the twilight of his career. He’s 2-2 across his past four fights, with wins over Junior Albini and Mark Hunt, and losses to Alistair Overeem and Walt Harris.
With 11 wins via Ezekiel choke in his career, Oleinik is the only fighter to successfully pull off the submission inside the octagon. He holds two wins via the rarely-seen choke in the UFC, against Viktor Pesta and Junior Albini.
Greene (8-3) joined the promotion via The Ultimate Fighter 28. Since making his debut he’s gone 3-1 for the company, suffering his first loss in the octagon last time out against Sergei Pavlovich.
UFC 246 is expected to take place January 18, 2020 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. Contract negotiations with headliner Conor McGregor are ongoing, which could see the date rescheduled should they fall through.
