At 44, Aleksei Oleinik picked up his 60th career win and came one step closer to tying the promotional record for heavyweight submissions with a first-round tap of Jared Vanderaa at UFC 273.
In classic fashion, Oleinik survived some dicey moments where Vanderaa stung him with punches and even took his back, threatening to turn the tables on the submission master. But the Russian reversed position and secured a scarf-hold from side mount to leave Vanderaa tapping – and later vomiting, according to cageside observers – at the 3:39 mark of the opening frame.
Check out the end below.
Oleinik wins by submission for the 47th time in 60 career wins
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— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 9, 2022
Some other stats produced by Oleinik with the win include:
- 7 submissions at heavyweight in the UFC, one shy of the record of 8 currently held by ex-champ Frank Mir.
- 47 career career submissions.
- The second of seven scarf-hold submissions in UFC history.
And according to Oleinik, he’s far from done. Despite a resume longer than the vast majority of most MMA competitors, he afterward told UFC commentator Joe Rogan he planned to compete “maybe five-, 10 more years.”
Oleinik was reddened by Vanderaa’s tentative standup attack. Vanderaa seized Oleinik’s leg in an attempt to get his opponent to fall on him. Vanderaa flipped to keep the top position and took back control. He never got close enough to the submission, nor did he right himself quickly enough before getting reversed. After taking the fight on less than two weeks’ notice after the withdrawal of Ilir Latifi, he found himself yet another victim of the grizzled Oleinik’s work and dropped his fourth UFC loss in five tries. Meanwhile, Oleinik snapped a three-fight skid.
Although their careers went in different directions, Vanderaa and Oleinik quickly went from foes to friends backstage, where UFC cameras filmed Oleinik holding a short seminar on his Ezekiel choke technique.
From opponent teacher, @OleynikUFC shares the wealth with @JaredVanderaa #UFC273 pic.twitter.com/KLtZfDB4Cw
— UFC (@ufc) April 10, 2022