Kaan Ofli only needed one opening to change the fight.
After frustrating Javier Reyes with his movement for much of the opening round, the Australian uncorked a crushing right hand that dropped the towering featherweight before quickly transitioning to an arm-triangle choke for a first round submission victory at UFC Baku on Saturday. It was a statement win for Ofli, who showed patience, power, and slick grappling to secure the biggest finish of his UFC career.
Round 1 – Ofli came right out and took the center of the cage, but Reyes looked like the much bigger man with a seven-inch reach advantage. Every time Ofli tried to close the distance and get to the body, Reyes was ready to fire back.
That didn’t stop Ofli from getting inside. He landed a clean right hand early and kept moving, making Reyes chase him around the cage. Reyes started coming forward more as the round went on, but he just couldn’t cut the cage off or keep Ofli in front of him.
Ofli kept looking to punch his way into the clinch, but Reyes wasn’t interested. By the midway point of the round, Reyes looked frustrated as Ofli’s movement continued to give him problems.
Then came the turning point.
Ofli blasted Reyes with a huge right hand that sent him crashing to the canvas. He jumped on him looking for the finish, but Reyes briefly used his wrestling to end up on top. It didn’t last long. Ofli quickly reversed the position, locked up an arm-triangle choke, and cranked on it.
A few seconds later, Reyes was was forced to tap.
Huge win for Kaan Ofli, who picked up the biggest finish of his UFC career in impressive fashion.
Official: Kaan Ofli def. Javier Reyes via R1 SUB (Arm Triangle), 4:16
