Wint survives kimura he couldn't defend to finish UFC debut on pure will

Anthony Wint (8-0) announced himself in the UFC heavyweight division by surviving a submission he freely admits he had no answer for, finishing fellow debutant Terrance Chatman via arm-triangle choke in the first round at UFC Sacramento.

Entering the fight as a heavy favourite, Wint struggled to impose his wrestling early and didn’t secure a takedown as cleanly as anticipated. When he finally brought the fight to the mat, Chatman locked up a kimura from the bottom position — a hold Wint had no technical counter for. Rather than tap, the former New York Jets linebacker simply refused to quit, wrenching his arm free at the risk of a break before transitioning to the arm-triangle that put Chatman out cold.

“What defense? I didn’t know what I was doing,” Wint told Full Send MMA. “I just said, ‘You’re gonna keep cranking it and I’m not gonna tap. Or you’re gonna break my arm.’”

The candid admission came paired with a promise of rapid improvement. Wint noted that training under coach Herbert Burns, he now plans to dedicate himself fully to the sport after previously juggling work commitments with his preparation.

“We got a great coach in Herbert Burns. We’re gonna work on leg locks and stuff. Because now I don’t have to work. The heavyweight division is in trouble. Because before, I was training, working and going back to training. Now I can just train all day.”

The performance was all the more remarkable given the circumstances surrounding the fight. Wint made an 11-day turnaround from earning his UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series — where he stopped his opponent in just 34 seconds — to stepping into the Octagon at Sacramento. Seven of his eight career victories have come by finish, and his debut only reinforced that pattern, even if the path to the stoppage was far messier than his record might suggest.