Eleven years ago at UFC Fight Night 43, Charles Oliveira defeated Hatsu Hioki via anaconda choke submission. The finish marked the first submission loss of Hioki's career.
Eleven years ago on this date, a then-emerging Charles Oliveira announced himself as a dangerous submission threat at featherweight by tapping out Hatsu Hioki via anaconda choke at UFC Fight Night 43, handing the Japanese veteran the first submission loss of his professional career.
Oliveira, now 36 and one of the most decorated submission artists in UFC history, has developed into a lightweight force ranked third in his division and eleventh pound-for-pound. The Brazilian, who stands five-foot-ten with a 74-inch reach and trains out of Chute Boxe Diego Lima, carries a professional record of 37-11-0 and averages an extraordinary 2.6 submission attempts per 15 minutes across his career. His striking accuracy of 54 percent and 3.35 significant strikes landed per minute round out a well-rounded offensive profile that has only sharpened over time.
Hioki, now 42, represented one of the more respected featherweights of his era when the two met. The Japanese fighter out of Alive holds a career record of 29-10-2 and brought a credible grappling pedigree into the contest, averaging 2.55 takedowns per 15 minutes. Standing five-foot-eleven with a 73-inch reach, Hioki was not an easy out — which made the anaconda choke finish all the more significant. He had never been submitted before that night, a testament to both his defensive grappling and the rarity of Oliveira's accomplishment.
Why it matters
- The finish reinforced Oliveira's identity as a submission specialist at a time when his UFC future was still uncertain
- Delivering the first submission loss of Hioki's career against an experienced Japanese veteran gave the result additional weight
- Oliveira has since gone on to capture the UFC lightweight title, making this early finish a notable milestone in his rise
