Alexander Volkov shocked the crowds at UFC 293 on September 9th, 2023 when he became the third person in UFC history to finish a fight with an Ezekiel Choke. It was surprising not just because the submission is so rare in itself, but also because Volkov is historically much more of a striker than a grappler. In fact, this was the first submission finish that he has landed in his UFC career, despite having competed for the promotion since 2016. It is also only the fourth submission finish of his professional MMA career, and he’s closing in on his 50th fight so nobody could have seen this happening.
Volkov was coming into this fight against Tai Tuivasa at UFC 293 firmly inside the top 10 of the heavyweight division, while Tuivasa was sitting at number 6. That means that the convincing win here should be enough to push him into the top 5 of the division and with this being his third win in a row, he’ll probably be just one more win away from a title-shot. If he’s been able to improve his submission skills to a decent level while also maintaining the elite striking he’s been known for his entire career, Volkov could be a really tough opponent for Jon Jones in the near-future.
UFC 293 Full Results
Sean Strickland defeats Israel Adesanya via Decision – Unanimous (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
Strickland becomes the new UFC middleweight world champion
Alexander Volkov defeats Tai Tuivasa via Submission – Ezekiel Choke (Round 2, 4:37)
Manel Kape defeats Felipe dos Santos via Decision – Unanimous (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Justin Tafa defeats Austen Lane via KO – Punches (Round 1, 1:22)
Tyson Pedro defeats Anton Turkalj via KO – Punches (Round 1, 2:12)
Preliminary Card
Carlos Ulberg defeats Jung Da-un via Submission – Rear-naked Choke (Round 3, 4:49)
Chepe Mariscal defeats Jack Jenkins via TKO – Arm Injury (Round 2, 3:19)
Jamie Mullarkey defeats John Makdessi via Decision – Unanimous (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Nasrat Haqparast defeats Landon Quinones via Decision – Unanimous (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Charlie Radtke defeats Mike Mathetha via Decision – Unanimous (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
Gabriel Miranda defeats Shane Young via Technical Submission – Rear-naked Choke (Round 1, 0:59)
Kevin Jousset defeats Kiefer Crosbie via Submission – Rear-naked Choke (Round 1, 4:49)
The full UFC 293 event replay, including Alexander Volkov submitting Tai Tuivasa with an Ezekiel Choke in the co-main event, is available to watch on UFC Fight Pass.
