UFC Fight Night 82 results: Misha Cirkunov crushes Alex Nicholson's jaw to get tapout

Misha Cirkunov

LAS VEGAS – After a happy moment in the lead-up to his UFC debut, Alex Nicholson’s first time in the octagon was anything but.

Misha Cirkunov (11-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) made sure Nicholson (6-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) went home a husband-to-be and not a UFC victor, cranking a reportedly once-broken jaw to get a tap.

The light heavyweight bout was part of the main card of today’s UFC Fight Night 82 event at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It aired on FOX Sports 1 following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

The official end came at the 1:28 mark of the second frame, when Cirkunov applied a face crank to secure a submission and his second UFC win. Nicholson, who got engaged at the UFC Fight Night 82 weigh-ins, suffered his second professional loss and saw a five-fight regional streak ended.

Cirkunov was little moved by Nicholson’s repeated attempts at cutting a highlight reel, evading spinning backfists and punches to secure takedowns. On the mat, he displayed a decided edge in exchanges, nearly catching a standing arm-triangle choke and securing back mount in the first round. After taking several shots in close, Nicholson was bloodied and appeared to be on short time.

Sure enough, when the UFC newcomer threw a telegraphed punch, Cirkunov got a quick takedown and again worked to the back, where he applied the fight-ending crank.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 82 results include:

• Misha Cirkunov def. Alex Nicholson via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:28
• Mike Pyle def. Sean Spencer via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 4:25
• Josh Burkman def. K.J. Noons via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Derrick Lewis def. Damian Grabowski via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:17
• Justin Scoggins def. Ray Borg via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
• Diego Rivas def. Noad Lahat via knockout (flying knee) – Round 2, 0:23
• Mickey Gall def. Mike Jackson via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 0:45
• Alex White def. Artem Lobov via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 82, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan contributed to this report on site in Las Vegas.)