Aleksei Oleinik continues to be dangerous at 44 years, and he proved it against Jared Vanderaa at UFC 273.
After Vanderaa (12-8 MMA, 1-4 UFC) tried to grapple Oleinik (60-15-1 MMA, 9-6 UFC) early in the first round of their heavyweight bout on Saturday at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., the Russian flipped the script and locked in his signature neck crack to add another submission to his storied resume.
It was the 47th time Oleinik has forced an opponent to tap out, and more important, represented the end of a three-fight losing skid that put his career in the danger zone.
Check out the replay of Oleinik’s handiwork below (via Twitter):
Oleinik wins by submission for the 47th time in 60 career wins 🤯
Stream #UFC273 on @ESPNPlus 🔜 https://t.co/Lvgzb6BYhZ pic.twitter.com/0U0tWVohtA
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 9, 2022
Oleinik said after the victory in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan that he intends on continuing to push forward with his career, despite his advanced age.
“Maybe five, 10 more years,” Oleinik said to Rogan with a smile.
