Alex Silva ties ONE Championship submission record with ONE 158 victory

Alex Silva tied Shinya Aoki's record of nine submissions in ONE Championship history last week. He now stands alongside his idol as one of the best submission artists in the promotion.

Aoki broke the all-time record of submission victories in ONE last year. He picked up his ninth submission in the promotion and 30th career submission overall against Eduard 'Landslide' Folayang at ONE on TNT 4. The incredible trilogy came to a close with an epic armbar in the very first round.

Alex Silva is now level with the Japanese icon after his recent win at ONE 158.

This past Friday, Silva snatched his ninth submission in ONE Championship when he emerged victorious in his rematch against Adrian Mattheis. The Brazilian latched onto an inside heel hook in the very first round, forcing Mattheis to tap.

In his post-interview, the former ONE strawweight champion was praised for his execution. However, he claimed he wasn't entirely satisfied with his submission victory.

“This is my strong part, is my grappling. So this fight is a lot of emotion. I need to watch this and see but I don’t feel I performed well. I’m not supposed to scramble that much, I’m supposed to just take him down and finish him quick. I come here humble but I come here to smash him, you know. And that’s what I did.”

No matter what the rankings show at present, Alex 'Little Rock' Silva is still one of the best strawweight fighters in ONE Championship. The multi-time world champion remains as humble and grateful as the day he started with ONE 12 years ago.

After hearing that he had won the $50,000 bonus, he said:

“You just gave me a [$]50,000 bonus but this is not the most important thing to give me. I want to all know this guy [Chatri] give me so much more than this. He give me his loyalty, his friendship, his advice. He’s more like my mentor, my brother, you know. I love the $50,000 but I want to everybody know he give me loyalty, you know? Today, if I’m still here fighting it’s because of that guy. Because that guy picked me up, brushed myself and pushed me and said ‘let’s f*cking go.’"

Alex Silva's triumph at ONE 158 was three-fold – He avenged a loss, tied for the most submissions in ONE history, and bagged a bonus. What a night for 'Little Rock'!

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Alex Silva breaks down why he's so prolific with his submissions

Alex Silva solidified his status as one of the best grapplers in ONE Championship after his recent submission victory.

Back when he had just eight submission wins in ONE, Silva broke down how he approaches attacking a submission in an interview with Sherdog. Highlighting the importance of not "chasing" a finish, he said:

"Lot of people ask me about that, you know. And that is what I used to tell my students, you’re not picking up the position or submission, the position pick up you. For somehow it happens you know, I’m not chasing for that but it’s the first time how it’s happen. I think it’s natural for me, you know. “

Watch Alex Silva's interview with Sherdog below: