Juan Espino made a statement in his second fight in the UFC. The Ultimate Fighter 28 winner was handed his second fight in the UFC against Jeff Hughes. Going into the fight, Espino was on a seven-fight win streak. However, Hughes had drawn one and lost two of his last three fights. 

Hughes had some serious power in his hands that could not be counted out, even against a multiple-time grappling world champion. However, it was a quick night in the office for Espino at UFC 253. The heavyweight bout was the last fight on the early prelims card.

The fight started out with both men getting a feel of each other. Espino initially tried to load up on a few overhand rights which did not land. ‘El Guapo’ nearly missed a clean connection with on Hughes before he switched over to his strength and grappled with the striker. 

Juan Espino secures his second win in the UFC

Once Espino made this switch, it all went downhill for Hughes. Espino could take ‘Lights Out’ Hughes down repeatedly and with little resistance. Even when Jeff stood up, he immediately found himself back on the floor with Juan on top of him. ‘El Guapo’ did a good job of damaging his opponent while he had him pinned to the floor. 

The end came as Huges was trying to get Juan off his back. Though he got him off, Juan immediately mounted him once more. After securing a good position Juan immediately transitioned to a scarf hold choke and made Hughes tap out. ‘El Guapo’ achieved the submission in just over a minute to secure his second win in the UFC. 

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In the post-fight interview, Juan said, “Oh I’m very happy. It’s been a long time outside the cage. Every day I did not lose motivation. I focused on my training, focused on the fight…This is a free option, I am world champion in grappling. My first natural move is submission. I’ve wrestled all my life, grappled all my life, wrestling is my instinct.” 

Espino added that he would like to fight the likes of Augusto Sakai or Alistair Overeem. Furthermore, he revealed that he would like to fight a few more times this year itself. 

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