MMA Fans Go Wild After Fighter Secures First Win by Hugging Opponent Into Submission

It may not have been quite the way he envisioned it would happen, but Deontre Butts finally secured his first win in what was his eleventh professional fight across several combat sports.

Although it ended up being a largely underwhelming showing in the minds of many MMA fans, the weekend’s primary combat sports attraction was a UFC London card that saw Movsar Evloev takes a controversial majority decision over Lerone Murphy when the two undefeated featherweight met in the night’s headlining bout.

Strong cards from the PFL and Cage Warriors were other highlights of the weekend’s combat sports slate, and there was also a bit of Sunday night MMA action when Anthony Pettis FC 22: New Mexico Fight Night 3 took place at Isleta Resort & Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Deontre Butts Smothers Antonio Zepeda To Force Quick Tap

Headlined by a pair of title bouts for the APFC lightweight and welterweight belts, the main card for APFC 22 also featured a heavyweight tilt between Butts and Antonio Zepeda, who was making his MMA debut after compiling a 7-2 record in professional boxing.

Butts also came into the night with six fights of boxing experience, although a knockout-loss to Roman Cordova in January brought his overall record in that discipline to 0-5-1. Adding in his previous three MMA bouts and a one-off kickboxing match, “Da Silverback” was 0-9-1 in his professional fighting career heading into Sunday night.

Taking advantage of the fact that Zepeda’s ground game was a clear question mark, Butts brought things to the canvas in the opening minute and wasted no time before moving into mount. With Zepeda seemingly unsure of how to escape the position and return to his feet, Butts began raining down big shots before he simply decided to pull his opponent into his chest and force a surprisingly quick tap.

The submission was announced as a Von Flue choke during the broadcast but was actually a smother choke, commonly referred to as “Mother’s Milk” in grappling and MMA circles. The bizarre win was a huge moment for Butts and understandably attracted a wide range of reactions from combat sports fans, who were also treated to a violent finish in the headlining title bout for APFC 22 when Jalin Fuller stopped Christian Turner in the opening round.

Knee from the clinch! 💥

Jalin Fuller wins by KNOCKOUT for the welterweight title!

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— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) March 23, 2026