Yaroslav Amosov made a strong UFC debut with a submission victory, his second consecutive finish by submission in the promotion. The Ukrainian fighter submitted Alvarez, who had never been finished by submission before, after executing an impressive throw directly into the submission position. Amosov demonstrated improved submission skills compared to his Bellator tenure, where he had fewer submission wins across nine fights. After the fight, Amosov acknowledged feeling nervous due to the crowd and expressed dissatisfaction with his performance despite the victory. He called out a top-10 opponent and specifically mentioned interest in fighting the winner of the Brady vs Buckley bout that took place on the same card.
Yaroslav Amosov announced himself to the UFC welterweight division in emphatic fashion at UFC 328 on May 9, submitting his opponent Alvarez in what marked his second consecutive finish by submission in the promotion. The victory was made more striking by the fact that Alvarez had never previously been stopped by submission, with Amosov securing the tap after an impressive throw that deposited his opponent directly into the finishing position.
The 32-year-old Ukrainian carries a 30-1-0 record into his early UFC tenure and stands six feet tall with a 75-inch reach. His ground game has clearly sharpened since his Bellator days, where submission finishes were a rarer commodity across nine fights. The numbers back up his grappling-heavy approach: Amosov averages 4.64 takedowns and 4.6 submission attempts per 15 minutes, making him one of the more dangerous wrestlers in the division. Despite the finish, he openly acknowledged nerves stemming from the crowd and expressed frustration with his overall performance.
Following the bout, Amosov called for a top-ten welterweight opponent and specifically named interest in the winner of the Sean Brady versus Joaquin Buckley fight that took place on the same card. Brady, ranked seventh at 170 pounds, brings a 19-2-0 record into the matchup and is a legitimate grappling threat himself, averaging 3.53 takedowns per 15 minutes out of Renzo Gracie Philly while connecting on 55 percent of his significant strikes. Buckley, ranked eleventh and carrying a 21-8-0 record, operates as a southpaw with a 76-inch reach and generates 3.88 significant strikes per minute, giving him a distinctly different style from Brady.
Why it matters
- Amosov is positioning himself for an immediate top-ten welterweight test after just his second UFC appearance
- A win over either Brady or Buckley would vault him into serious divisional contention
- The Brady matchup in particular would pit two elite grapplers against each other, testing whether Amosov's submission improvements are legitimate at the highest level
Saturday, May 9, 2026
