Ex-Bellator champion Andrey Koreshkov finesses slick armbar in one-off for Russian promotion

Andrey Koreshkov made the most of his outside-of-Bellator opportunity on Tuesday.

At an AMC Fight Nights event, Koreshkov (23-4 MMA, 13-4 BMMA) defeated Adriano Rodrigues in the main event of the card held in Sochi, Russia. A former Bellator welterweight champion, Koreshkov submitted Rodrigues (18-6) via armbar with about 30 seconds remaining in Round 1.

Following a few brief striking exchanges on the feet, Koreshkov dragged Rodrigues to the ground. From there, Koreshkov worked his way to mount. Ground-and-pound opened up the opportunity for Koreshkov to take Rodrigues’ back.

When Rodrigues rolled back to face Koreshkov, the Russian fighter snuck up the Brazilian’s torso. High up on Rodrigues, Koreshkov was in a perfect position to snatch and arm and get the tap, which is what he did.

Masterful performance by Andrey “Spartan” Koreshkov in the AMC Fight Nights main event.#AMCFightNights pic.twitter.com/yKzx3bWTIr

— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) February 23, 2021

A former Bellator welterweight champion, Koreshkov was lent to Russian promotion AMC Fight Nights for a one-off bout in order to stay active during Bellator’s break from holding events.

Koreshkov, 30, has now won four of his most recent six outings since he lost the Bellator welterweight title to Andrey Koreshkov in November 2016. Tuesday’s fight was the first time Koreshkov had competed since an October 2019 split decision loss to Lorenz Larkin.