UFC 318 star Brunno Ferreira took his opponent’s arm, as well as a UFC record, home with him with a nasty first-round submission.
UFC middleweight Brunno Ferreira was one of several intriguing young stars featured during the UFC 318 prelims. Ferreira was supposed to face former Robert Whittaker rival, Ikram Aliskerov, before Aliskerov withdrew due to injury.
In Aliskerov’s absence, UFC debutant Jackson McVey stepped in at UFC 318 after he was supposed to make his first Octagon appearance earlier this year. McVey entered UFC 318 with a perfect record through six fights, with all six wins finishing in the first round.
This time around, Ferreira gave McVey a taste of his own medicine.
Brunno Ferreira continues middleweight rise with wild first-round finish at UFC 318
Ferreira and McVey wasted little time getting after it during their UFC 318 fight. Ferreira landed a couple of nasty punches that landed cleanly to McVey’s chin and stifled his opponent with leg kicks.
Ferreira proceeded to get a big takedown and smother McVey on the ground, as his opponent attempted to transition from bottom position. After setting a trap, Ferreira got a hold of McVey’s arm and proceeded to sink in a brutal armbar that nearly handed his rival a devastating injury.
Midway through Round 1, McVey tapped to Ferreira’s submission and the New Orleans crowd went berserk.
Ferreira matched UFC featherweight contender Jean Silva for the most finishes (5) by a UFC fighter since 2023. Silva most recently submitted Bryce Mitchell at UFC 314 to climb into the Top 15.
Before his win at UFC 318, Ferreira submitted Armen Petrosyan with an armbar at UFC 313. He’s bounced back with consecutive wins after a loss to Abus Magomedov at UFC 308 in October.
Ferreira earned a UFC contract via Dana White’s Contender Series in 2022. In his promotional debut, Ferreira knocked out Gregory Rodrigues with one punch at UFC 283 to assert himself as a bright prospect in the middleweight division.
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UFC 318 kicks off with flurry of finishes on the prelims
Ferreira’s win wasn’t the only notable performance of the UFC 318 prelims. UFC women’s flyweight Carli Judice got the action started with a third-round knee knockout over Nicolle Caliari.
Anthony Smith‘s former foe, Ryan Spann, submitted Lukasz Brzeski with a guillotine choke to earn his first heavyweight victory. UFC 318 is headlined by a BMF title matchup between Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier.
UFC 318 will mark Poirier’s retirement fight after a long, legendary career inside the Octagon. Meanwhile, Holloway is looking to retain his BMF title and get back into the title mix at lightweight.
Follow along for all the latest highlights and news from UFC 318 here at Bloody Elbow.