MMA veteran Alexey Oleynik taught his signature move to Jared Vandeera after submitting him at UFC 273.
Oleynik picked up his 60th win as a professional by tapping out Vandeera with a scarf hold submission last weekend. The 44-year-old broke a three-fight losing streak with the win and earned a $50,000 performance bonus for his efforts.
In a moment that encapsulated the respect between the two fighters, Oleynik showed Vandeera his trademark ezekiel choke backstage after their fight. 'The Boa Constrictor' demonstrates the choke on Vandeera before guiding him through the submission on his coach.
“I do this submission many times, I am happy because my opponent listened about this and asked me 'what is this choke'. I can show this submission to everyone and this is no problem for me, because nobody [can catch this] submission on me. If you want to submit me, you must repeat the submission maybe 3,000 times, 5,000 or maybe 10,000 times," he said.
No fighter in MMA history has more wins by ezekiel choke than Oleynik, with the 44-year-old having choked out 14 opponents with the move during his career. Oleynik is also the only fighter to win across four different decades having turned professional in 1996.
Oleynik also revealed another UFC legend in Antonio Nogueira once asked him how to pull off the submission, a moment that made him "very proud" given Nogueira's credentials as one of the most respected fighters of all time.
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Despite being the oldest fighter on the UFC roster, Oleynik joked after his recent win that he still plans to compete for five to ten more years. Oleynik had previously lost fights to Sergey Spivak, Chris Daukaus and Derrick Lewis before UFC 273.
"This is important for me because I'm not a young guy and I'm still fighting in the best promotion with the best fighters in the world," Oleynik said of his win. "I hope other guys who don't believe in themselves and say 'I'm too fat, I'm too old' can watch my fight and say 'if he can, I can too.'
"I've been fighting for such a long time and I have so much experience. Sometimes I forget what I did ten or twenty years ago. I've fought with Alistair Overeem, Mark Hunt and Mirko Filipovic who are all super legends."
