Diego Lopes knew the drill at Noche UFC.
The former UFC title challenger is back in the win column after losing in his first title fight against current champion Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 314 in April.
It was an emphatic night for Brazil’s Lopes, who headlined the third annual Noche UFC event in San Antonio, Texas, across from ‘Fighting Nerds’ star and fellow countryman Jean Silva.
Lopes nearly finished Silva with ground and pound in round 1. In round 2, Silva started to find success on the feet before Lopes landed a brutal elbow on the top of Silva’s head en route to the TKO finish.
While some blame Silva’s loss on his fight IQ, Lopes insists the highlight-reel knockout was no fluke.
- READ MORE: Jean Silva breaks his silence on brutal Noche UFC loss while showcasing his badly damaged face
Diego Lopes says he practiced spinning back elbow backstage
Post-fight, Lopes revealed he had been working on his spinning back elbows all throughout fight camp.
Lopes posted photos of him drilling the technique in the locker room before the fight with his coach and his training partner, UFC featherweight Austin Bashi.
“I’m not surprised,” Lopes wrote on Instagram following his win at Noche UFC.
“We did that during camp and also before going out to fight,” Lopes said of his spinning back elbow.
“Nothing here is luck,” Lopes added.
Back-to-back spinning elbow KOs took place at UFC 319
Spinning elbow knockouts were hard to come by up until recently.
Last month, we witnessed two spinning back elbow knockouts on the main card of UFC 319.
First, it was Silva’s teammate Carlos Prates who knocked out Geoff Neal with the move. Then, in the fight after, Lerone Murphy spoiled Aaron Pico’s UFC debut when he was coming forward.
Both men earned performance bonuses for their knockouts. Diego Lopes earned a $100,000 double-bonus for his fight against Silva.
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