Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Featherweights Fernando Padilla and Luis Pajuelo threw down earlier tonight (Sat. March 23, 2024) live on ESPN inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. In a dominant win, Padilla secured the first-round finish via d’arce choke.
Padilla didn’t impress in his last showing against Kyle Nelson, but “El Valiente” wasn’t about to make that mistake twice. The rangy kickboxer was sharp from the first bell here, poking at Pajuelo with all sorts of shots from distance. Pajuelo tried to work through his opponent’s height and reach advantage, but he can walking into stabbing kicks, jabs, and knees.
Just as Pajuelo started to find a bit of success with his punches, the bout came to a close. Pajuelo tried to rip a left to the body, but Padilla returned the favor with a nasty counter combination that floored him. As Pajuelo tried to bounce back to his feet, Padilla wrapped up the neck in a d’arce choke.
Pajuelo did manage to stand, but it didn’t make any difference. The choke was too locked in, and the standing tapout came quickly.
Check out the highlight clip below:
Fernando Padilla taps Luis Pajuelo in less than 3 minutes! pic.twitter.com/p7bJaogsVw
— MMA Mania (@mmamania) March 24, 2024
At 27 years of age, this finish was a great reminder that Padilla still has a high ceiling at 145 lbs. If he can continue to strike at this level and perform consistently, it’s going to be a lot of fun watching the Mexican talents career develop.
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