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Watch: Rafael Alves channels his inner Booker T by escaping hold with a spinaroonie

Rafael Alves (Left) fought Damir Ismagulov in the opening bout of UFC Vegas 27 prelims
Rafael Alves (Left) fought Damir Ismagulov in the opening bout of UFC Vegas 27 prelims

UFC lightweight Rafael Alves pulled off a stunning ground escape as his opponent Damir Ismagulov attempted to take his back at UFC Vegas 27. The move was reminiscent of the spinaroonie move that was made famous by pro-wrestler Booker T in the 2000s. The move is also known as the Grnby Roll.

After two rounds of back-and-forth action, Rafel Alves and Tamir Ismagulov started the third round by trading jabs. Ismagulov shot in for a takedown and landed a few body shots from the top. Alves turned to his knees and spun his way into the stand-up as Ismagulov tried to lock Alves's body.

Rafael Alves (19-10 MMA, 0-1 UFC) fought Russian prospect Damir Ismagolov in the opening bout of UFC Vegas 27 prelims. After three rounds of action, all three judges scored the contest 29-28 in Ismagulov's favor, declaring him the winner by unanimous decision. Damir Ismagulov improved his record to 20-1 with a win over Rafael Alves and extended his career winning streak to 15 straight. He has won all four of his UFC fights since making the promotional debut against Alex Gorgees in December of 2018.

Rafael Alves earned his spot in the UFC with a second-round submission win over Alejandro Flores Garcia in Dana White's contender series in August 2020. Alves was expected to make his UFC debut at UFC Vegas 19 in February 2021. However, a historic blunder postponed his first walk to the UFC octagon to UFC Vegas 27.

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A post shared by Rafael "The Turn" Alves (@rafaeltheturn)

Rafael Alves missed weight for not one but two divisions at UFC Vegas 19

Rafael Alves was expected to make his promotional debut with this UFC in the featherweight (145lbs) fight against Patrick Sabatini at UFC Vegas 19. Alves weighed in at 156.5lbs for the weigh-ins. The Brazilian fighter missed the weight by a margin that would disqualify him even for the lightweight division, where 156lbs is the permissible weight limit for non-title bouts. The weight miss resulted in the bout cancelation.

However, Alves had accepted the featherweight fight on short notice and had declared his intention to move up in weight for subsequent fights during an interview with MMA Fighting. He attributed the decision to move up in weight to his teammate and top UFC welterweight Colby Covington's advice.

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