Billy Elekana had to put his opponent to sleep even if he probably didn’t want to.
The light heavyweight prospect put together his first UFC win streak with a first-round submission of Kevin Christian to close out Saturday’s UFC Vegas 110 preliminary card. Elekana’s win wasn’t without controversy as it appeared Christian tapped out well before the fight was officially waved off and only after referee Chris Tognoni saw that Christian had lost consciousness in Elekana’s rear-naked choke.
The light heavyweight bout was contested on the feet until Elekana cracked Christian with a counter left with about two minutes remaining in the opening round. Christian was badly hurt and his situation only worsened when Elekana followed with ground and pound. When Christian gave up his back, Elekana quickly attacked with a choke and sunk it in deep.
Christian could be seen tapping out, but Tognoni was on the wrong side of the action and did not see Christian’s arm, which was trapped between his and Elekana’s bodies. Eventually, Tognoni registered that Christian was out and the bout was officially waved off 3:33 into Round 1.
Elekana gets a much-needed finish after a forgettable decision win over Ibo Aslan this past July, while Christian falls in his UFC debut after being signed off of Dana White’s Contender Series in September.
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