Maxim Grishin earned his first Octagon victory at UFC Fight Island 6, overwhelming Gadzhimurad Antigulov at the end of the second round.
Gadzhimurad Antigulov and Maxim Grishin squared off at UFC Fight Island 6, both looking to bounce back from losses. For Antigulov, he came to the promotion as the ACB light heavyweight champion and submitted his first two Octagon opponents. Since then, though, he went on a three-fight losing streak, getting stopped in all of those defeats. All but one of his 20 wins heading into the event, all but one were stoppages.
Grishin joined the UFC this year after fighting with the PFL for the past two years, going 4-0-2 with three stoppages in that time. He had a tough opponent in his debut, losing to Marcin Tybura back in July.
The fight started fairly conservatively, with Grishin taking the center of the cage for the first minute without striking until a leg kick 60 seconds in. A pair of leg kicks came in from Grishin, then Antigulov grabbed a leg and drove Grishin into the fence. Antigulov landed a knee to the body and Grishin circled away. Grishin rushed in with a combination and clinched up with Antigulov, landeing a knee of his own. After they separated, it was Antigulov’s turn to initiate the clinch. This time, Grishin turned away, landed a hard elbow, then a snapping leg kick that wobbled Antigulov. A body jab landed for Antigulov, then he clinched up with Grishin again, but it did not lead to anything. Grishin threw up a high kick before the end of the round.
Grishin went to the leg kick right away and Antigulov responded with a spinning back kick that missed. However, he charged in with a takedown and brought Grishin down. Grishin fought off Antigulov’s attempt to take the back and stood up, but was lifted up and slammed to the ground. Grishin smoothly reversed position as he landed and pushed his opponent to the cage. Antigulov pushed away, landed a body kick, but Grishin then shot in for a takedown and threw him down. Antigulov countered with a guillotine that Grishin broke out of and transitioned to mount. Grishin began dropping elbows down and Antigulov ate quite a few before pushing off the cage and escaping. Antigulov landed a right hand that stung Grishin, who circled away then landed a right hand of his own. Antigulov covered up and Grishin unleashed a barrage of punches, stopping the fight on the feet at the buzzer.
RALLYING PUNCHES.
🇷🇺 Maxim Grishin with a late shower of shots to close the fight.
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— UFC (@ufc) October 17, 2020
Maxim Grishin def. Gadzhimurad Antigulov by TKO (Punches) in Round 2 (4:58)
