UFC Austin video: Miesha Tate taps out Julia Avila with nasty rear-naked choke following one-sided mauling

03/12/2023 01:08

Miesha Tate got back in the win column in a big way at UFC Austin after she dominated Julia Avila for two-plus rounds before securing a nasty neck crank submission.

From the first second until the last, Tate wasted no time bringing the fight down to the ground again and again with Avila having no answers in defense. The one-sided performance eventually opened up the opportunity for Tate to lock on the fight ending submission, which was declared a rear-naked choke but really she just cranked Avila's face and neck, which forced her tap out to end the fight.

The stoppage came at 1:15 in the third round.

"It wasn't about the opponent," Tate said about the fight. "I was going to show up this way tonight no matter who it was against. This is what made me.

"This tonight marks my 20th professional victory. I've been doing this for 18 years. People said quit, give up after my last fight. I had to show myself and I hope all of you that you do not quit on yourself. You do not give up."

Almost as quickly as the fight got started, Tate rushed forward with a takedown to bring Avila to the ground where she began working her grappling game. An attempt to escape from Avila led to Tate taking her back before rolling into the mount.

A second later as Avila tried to avoid the punishment, Tate took the back again but this time she locked on the body triangle. Tate continued her assault while with a series of punches and brutal elbows that forced Avila to just hang on so she could see the second round.

Avila found the briefest moment of success with a couple of punches landed on the restart but Tate shut that down in a hurry with another takedown. With Avila stuck underneath her, Tate was really beginning to blast away with punches and just bullying her opponent on the ground.

While Avila managed to make it to the final frame, Tate's path to success was already cleared as she quickly latched onto another takedown to continue her dominant showcase. This time instead of blasting away with punches, Tate forced Avila to roll again and that allowed her the opening to lock on the submission.

Replays showed that Tate's arm was actually across Avila's open mouth, which obviously put tremendous pressure on her neck and jaw. Avila wasted no time tapping out to prevent any further damage.

Tate moves to 2-2 since returning from retirement but this will be her first win following a brutal weight cut to 125 pounds, which did not result in any success. Now back in her old stomping grounds at bantamweight, Tate still looks like a force to be reckoned with in the future.