Chris Padilla made a memorable Octagon debut earlier tonight (Sat., April 27, 2024) at UFC Vegas 91 live on ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, stepping up on short notice to defeat fellow lightweight prospect James Llontop by first-round submission (rear-naked choke).
Llontop, who captured a win on Dana White’s Contender Series last September, was originally booked to fight veteran Lando Vannata. “Groovy” was forced out of the bout and replaced by Gabriel Green, who was eventually forced to withdraw as well. That’s when Padilla stepped up on short notice to make his own UFC debut.
The first round was a pretty even back-and-forth affair on the feet, but the second Padilla was able to use his grappling you saw that he was levels above Llontop. Padilla was able to grab a hold of a tight rear-naked choke and squeezed for the finish. LLontop, who has a submission loss on his record, ended up tapping with just under 30 seconds left in the round.
Check out the final moments in the above video player.
Padilla, 28, came into this fight riding a three fight win streak and coming off a TKO win over UFC veteran Justin Jaynes. “Taco” didn’t have much time at all to prepare for the biggest stage in combat sports, but he pulled through with flying colors. LLontop is a pretty solid prospect at 155 pounds and Padilla choked him out in one round. Pretty impressive.
For complete UFC Vegas 91 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.