Padilla seals UFC Sacramento win with arm-triangle choke at the final second

Chris Padilla denied Nasrat Haqparast a trip to the scorecards at UFC Sacramento on Saturday, locking in an arm-triangle choke with one second remaining in Round 3 to secure a stunning submission finish at 4:59.

The stoppage capped a competitive three-round lightweight bout that had been largely contested on the feet. After two back-and-forth rounds of striking, Padilla held a 20-18 lead on the official scorecards, though the outcome was far from certain in the moment. Sensing the pressure, he pushed the pace in the final frame and, as he forced Haqparast against the fence, spotted the opening for a takedown. He dragged his opponent to the mat and rendered him unconscious just before the buzzer sounded.

The victory keeps Padilla (18-6-1) undefeated inside the UFC octagon. His only blemish in the promotion remains a draw against MarQuel Mederos in his previous outing — a result that, by his own reckoning, arguably should have gone his way.

For Haqparast (18-7), the defeat extends a difficult run. The German-Afghan lightweight has now lost back-to-back fights and, for the second time in a row, failed to see the judges’ scorecards — having been brutally knocked out by Quillan Salkilld this past October.

The manner of Padilla’s finish — a composed, technical submission secured in the dying second of a fight he was already winning — underlines his growing reputation as one of the more complete fighters on the UFC roster.