Alex Nicholson is leaving Las Vegas with a broken jaw courtesy of a Misha Cirkunov neck crank in their bout at UFC Fight Night 82.
From the start, Cirkunov put non-stop pressure on Nicholson, absorbing strikes to get in close and work his grueling clinch game. To Nicholson's credit, he repeatedly scraped himself off of the mat, and made it to the second round without suffering any serious damage.
But Cirkunov eventually got a clean takedown, and that was the beginning of the end for Nicholson. Cirkunov established back control where he was able to connect with punch after punch on the trapped Nicholson. The assault left Nicholson open to a neck crank that injured his jaw and forced the tap out.
¡¡¡Oh, no me casare con un loser!!!! Creó no habrá boda je @elrocktagono @mastervic10 @mariodelgadorzm #UFCVegas pic.twitter.com/zXfQtD9HMY
— El Neto (@puchungo76) February 7, 2016
The romantic Nicholson proposed to his girlfriend at Friday's weigh-ins, so he'll at least have something positive to look back on from this weekend. Otherwise, his UFC debut was an absolute nightmare.