5 most explosive moments from UFC Fight Night: Islam Makhachev vs. Bobby Green

#2: Wellington Turman ends Misha Cirkunov’s night with a sudden armbar

Wellington Turman's armbar of Misha Cirkunov came in very explosive fashion

Submissions are often seen as a less explosive finish than a knockout, usually because they tend to be set up in slower fashion – particularly if they come following a period in a dominant position.

However, Wellington Turman’s armbar victory over Misha Cirkunov at UFC Vegas 49 was the exact opposite. While he didn’t leave Cirkunov with an injury or anything like that, it was definitely an explosive finish from the Brazilian.

Early on in the fight, things certainly didn’t appear to be going Turman’s way. He did attempt a standing rear-naked choke in the first round. But when Cirkunov escaped that position, he took over the fight with some heavy shots on the ground and then attempted a choke of his own that didn’t quite work.

The Latvian-Canadian appeared to be in control going into the second round, but after tripping Turman up, he simply failed to protect his arm adequately. And in unbelievably rapid fashion, the Brazilian locked the limb up and forced him to tap out.

The victory won’t move Turman into title contention at 185lbs, but it does put him on his first win streak inside the octagon, and it was also his first finish there. For Cirkunov, though, it may signal the end of his UFC career.

More to the point, the beautiful – and ridiculously sudden – armbar was enough to give Turman a $50k bonus cheque, meaning this was probably the best night of his career thus far.

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#1: Islam Makhachev cements his spot as the UFC’s most dangerous lightweight with a beatdown of Bobby Green

Islam Makhachev may have cemented a lightweight title shot after his mauling of Bobby Green

Okay, so it wasn’t a brutal standing knockout or a limb-wrenching submission, but Islam Makhachev’s first round win over Bobby Green was definitely explosive in its own way – and should be enough to net him a shot at the UFC lightweight title.

The most explosive moment of the fight, in fact, was arguably Makhachev’s takedown. After eating a couple of strikes from Green and throwing a few of his own, the Dagestani shot on a double leg in remarkably quick fashion – and dumped ‘King’, a high level wrestler in his own right, to the ground.

From there, the fight was simply a mauling. Green was unable to get to his feet, and suffered a pretty bad beatdown until referee Herb Dean stepped in to call the fight off in an excellent stoppage.

Was this as explosive a victory as Makhachev’s previous ones over Dan Hooker or Gleison Tibau, for instance? Definitely not, but it was hugely impressive – and violent – in its own right, particularly given the potential stylistic issues Green provided for him.

Overall, the win was an impressive one – and cemented Makhachev’s position as the most dangerous lightweight contender in the world right now.