UFC 296 video: Tagir Ulanbekov taps Cody Durden with nasty rear-naked choke in second round

Tagir Ulanbekov got some advice from former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov before he set foot in the cage on Saturday night and he executed the game plan to perfection.

After nearly securing a submission in the first round as well, Ulanbekov eventually latched onto a nasty rear-naked choke that forced Cody Durden to tap out in the featured early prelim at UFC 296. The end came at 4:25 in the second round with Ulanbekov securing his second win in a row while moving to 4-1 in the UFC overall.

“Today Khabib sent me a voice message and he actually gave me the goal to finish the fight,” Ulanbekov said afterwards. “Take the back and finish with that move. Khabib, I did the plan.”

Ulanbekov nearly scored a knockout early in the fight after he tagged Durden with a stiff right hand that dropped the flyweight veteran to the canvas. A scramble ensued with Ulanbekov eventually locking on a guillotine choke but Durden was able to stay composed and eventually slip free.

Unfortunately, Durden ended up with Ulanbekov on his back for the closing moments in the first round and he found himself in almost the identical position in the second round as well.

With Ulanbekov draped on his back while standing, Durden desperately tried to break the grip or fight out of the bad position but he just couldn’t slip free. Eventually, Ulanbekov slipped his arm under the chin so he could secure the submission and as the fighters fell back down to the canvas, Durden had no choice but to tap out.

It was an impressive showing from Ulanbekov as he not only gets back-to-back wins but he also secured his second straight submission victory with his finish at UFC 296.