UFC on ESPN 59 video: Luana Santos spoils Mariya Agapova's return with first-round choke

Luana Santos gave Mariya Agapova a rough welcome back to competition from a long layoff on Saturday at UFC on ESPN 59.

In the women’s flyweight prelim matchup at Ball Arena in Denver, Santos (8-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) used a slick judo throw to toss Agapova (10-5 MMA, 2-4 UFC) to the mat. She proceeded to threaten with multiple submission attempts before locking in a rear-naked choke for the tap at the 3:26 mark of Round 1.

Agapova’s mouthguard was coming out of her mouth as the choke was being locked in, and that caused her to flail as the referee stepped in. Check out the replay of the submission below (via X):

SHE GETS THE FIRST ROUND SUBMISSION @LuanaSantosMMA1 makes it 5 in a row! #UFCDenver pic.twitter.com/QgVlxXsDDm

— UFC (@ufc) July 14, 2024

With five consecutive victories in her career, the 24-year-old Santos said she is proud of the performance because it reflected the hard work in her training camp.

“I’ve been training to get back for months,” Santos told Paul Felder through an interpreter in her post-fight interview. “It’s four months of training to get the back. … I’m so glad I trained that much, because I was able to get her and get the rear-naked choke.”

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 59 results include:

• Luana Santos def. Mariya Agapova via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:27
• Andre Petroski def. Josh Fremd via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Evan Elder def. Darrius Flowers via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.