Charles Oliveira taps out Will Brooks with standing rear-naked choke at UFC 210
Charles Oliveira may have plans to return to 145-pounds, but he made quite an impact in his brief return to lightweight with a nasty standing rear-naked choke to finish Will Brooks to kick off the UFC 210 pay-per-view.
Oliveira was essentially forced to move to 155-pounds after several disastrous weight cuts while competing at featherweight but despite moving up a division, he looked better than ever on Saturday night.
Following a brief exchange on the feet, Oliveira landed a beautiful takedown to put Brooks on the mat, which is exactly the last place the wrestler wanted to end up as the fight got underway.
Once Oliveira had Brooks down, he latched onto his opponent and didn't let go even when the fight found its way back on the feet.
Standing up actually backfired for Brooks with Oliveira transitioning to take his back and immediately moving into position for the rear-naked choke. With Brooks trapped against the cage, Oliveira held onto the neck and locked onto the hold like an anaconda wrapped around its prey.
Brooks did his best to resist the choke, but as the grip tightened, he had no choice but to tap out as Oliveira gets back into the win column with a very impressive first-round finish.
Afterwards, Oliveira confirmed that he hopes to get back to 145-pounds for his next fight as he believes featherweight is still the best division for him to compete. If he decides to stay at 155-pounds, Oliveira could certainly be a tough challenge for anybody, especially considering the performance he put on at UFC 210.
