‘Tanquinho’ Mendes scores 36-second win in MMA debut

Multiple time jiu-jitsu champion Augusto Mendes made quick work of his first opponent in MMA.
“Tanquinho” made his amateur MMA debut on Saturday night at Duel for Domination 6 at the Arizona Event Center in Meza, AZ. A training part…

Multiple time jiu-jitsu champion Augusto Mendes made quick work of his first opponent in MMA.

“Tanquinho” made his amateur MMA debut on Saturday night at Duel for Domination 6 at the Arizona Event Center in Meza, AZ. A training partner of former UFC lightweight champion Ben Henderson at MMA Lab, the Brazilian needed only 36 seconds to take Jamie Carskaden down, get the mount and finish the bout with an arm-triangle choke.

Mendes fought Carskaden in a featherweight clash, and plans to make his professional debut in the bantamweight division early next year.

“Our head coach John Crouch thought it would be better to do an amateur fight first to get rid of the anxiety of the debut, get some experience in the cage and feel the weight cut,” Mendes told MMAFighting.com before the fight. “I’ll do what they tell me, and hope to make my professional debut next year.

“My goal is to become the champion anywhere I fight. I know I’m far from being a champion, but I’ll train hard every day to get one step closer. One of my goals in jiu-jitsu was always become the champion, and that’s how I became a two-time world champion in the black belt division.”

Watch the quick submission below: