Matheus Nicolau was one of the victims of the apparent extinction of the UFC’s flyweight division, and he made the most of his first bout outside of the Octagon.
After having his opponent switched twice leading up to Friday night’s Future FC 5 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Nicolau finished Alan Gabriel with a d’arce choke in only 78 seconds.
It was Nicolau’s first fight at bantamweight since competing on TUF Brazil 4 and debuting in the UFC in 2015, a move that he’s done eyeing a possible return to the UFC in the future.
Nicolau competed under the UFC banner between 2015 and 2018, scoring wins over Bruno Mesquita, John Moraga and Louis Smolka, but parted ways with the company following a first-round defeat to Dustin Ortiz last July.