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Billy Elekana picked up his first UFC victory Saturday in violent fashion, partially due to a referee mishap.
After landing a clubbing shot, Elekana (9-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) locked in a rear-naked choke on Kevin Christian. Referee Chris Tognoni was not in position to see the tap, so Christian (9-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) went unconscious. The bout was waved off at 3:33 of Round 1.
The light heavyweight bout served as the featured prelim for UFC Fight Night 263 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
A right hand from Elekana started the finishing sequence. After some more punches, he locked the submission. As Christian tapped with his left hand, Tognoni was only in position to see his left arm. So Christian lost consciousness and wheezed on the canvas after the fight was stopped.
The win was Elekana’s first in the promotion after an unsuccessful debut vs. Ibo Aslan. Conversely, Christian’s long-awaited UFC debut ends in under four minutes.
The latest UFC Fight Night 263 results include:
- Billy Elekana def. Kevin Christian via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:33
- Timmy Cuamba def. ChangHo Lee via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Donte Johnson def. Sedriques Dumas via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 1:25
- Norma Dumont def. Ketlen Vieira via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Alice Ardelean def. Montserrat Conejo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- SeokHyeon Ko def. Phil Rowe via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
- Talita Alencar def. Arianne Carnelossi via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 4:36
