Diego Lopes shocks UFC Nashville with incredible walk-off armbar submission in R1 after early low blow - "The ref didn’t even call"

Diego Lopes soared to victory with a spectacular first-round submission victory over Gavin Tucker at UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Font.

Lopes made his promotional debut against Movsar Evloev earlier this year at UFC 288. While he lost the fight via unanimous decision, the Brazilian impressed everyone with his performance considering that he took the fight with Evloev on five days' notice and came close to submitting his opponent on several occasions.

Lopes faced some initial adversity early on in the fight as Tucker fired a nasty low blow in the opening sequence. However, Lopes recovered quickly and displayed his tenacity, locking in a triangle choke quickly after that. Though Tucker managed to defend the choke initially, Lopes was determined to get the submission victory, expertly transitioning to an armbar.

Tucker eventually tapped and Lopes walked away with his first victory under the UFC banner via triangle armbar. With this victory, Diego Lopes' professional MMA record now stands at 22-6.

The MMA community was impressed by Lopes' performance. Several fighters and fans took to Twitter to react to the submission victory. Former UFC light heavyweight title contender Jimi Manuwa wrote:

"The ref didn’t even call that sub. He just got up and celebrated. Did anyone see that #UFCNashville"

Check out some of the best reactions below:

Meanwhile, Gavin Tucker succumbed to a second straight loss after a knockout loss to Dan Ige in his previous fight.

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Diego Lopes reacts to his submission victory over Gavin Tucker at UFC Nashville

Diego Lopes delivered a flawless performance on UFC Nashville against Gavin Tucker. The triangle-armbar submission victory over Tucker is only the 11th of its kind in UFC history.

Impressively, Lopes has been on a roll, racking up 20 victories in his last 22 fights, with an astounding 13 first-round stoppages. His dominant display in the recent match signals that he is a force to be reckoned with in the UFC featherweight division.

Speaking about the submission victory in the post-fight octagon interview, Diego Lopes stated (translated):

"I'm a guy that wants to finish all the fights. That's the difference when you train for jiu-jitsu competitions. We can adjust for all positions."

Lopes also expressed his desire to compete in the upcoming UFC Fight Night event in Sao Paulo, Brazil later this year on November 4.

Watch the post-fight octagon interview below: