The UFC 264 card kicked off with an impressive performance that could land Zhalgas Zhumagulov a US $75,000 bonus at the end of the night.
Zhalgas Zhumagulov taps Jerome Rivera at UFC 264
The opener between Zhumagulov and Jerome Rivera started off fast. River, 26, entered the matchup on a three-fight losing skid inside the Octagon, and he fought from the outset like a man fully aware he needed a win to keep his spot on the roster. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum pressured early and tried to use his length to maintain range. It seemed to give the Kazahkstan native some trouble early.
With close to the three minutes left in the opening round, an exchange against the cage saw Zhumagulov, 32, land a hook that seemed to stun “Renegade” and dropped him to his knees. In an attempt to defend and recover, Rivera shot in for his opponent’s legs to take the fight to the mat. That was a big mistake.
Unreal choke by @ZhakoZhumagulov 🤯
Stream #UFC264 on @ESPNPlus ➡️ https://t.co/m1HK2qwiEF pic.twitter.com/gWNmjQSoiq
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 10, 2021
Rivera did not protect his neck during the takedown attempt, Zhumagulov snapped it up and locked in a front choke. Once secure, it only took a few seconds of tork from the stout flyweight to force Rivera to tap out at 2:58 of the first round.
How's that for a first win in the UFC 😱
🇰🇿 @ZhakoZhumagulov gets a first RD tap! #UFC264 pic.twitter.com/ZvWSVfXiY6
— UFC (@ufc) July 10, 2021
The victory was filled with firsts and greatly needed for Zhumagulov. He bounced back from two close losses at UFC 251 and UFC 257, to Raulian Paiva and Amir Albazi, respectively. Plus, he earned his first win inside the Octagon, as well as the first submission “W” of his career.
What a beautiful standing choke from Zhumagulov! #UFC264
— Herbert Burns (@HerbertBurnsMMA) July 10, 2021
New Mexico native Rivera is now winless in his four Octagon appearances, after earning his contract 11 months ago. It doesn’t seem likely he will be a member of the roster much longer.
