Roque Conceicao Moreira Junior Submits Chavez on DWCS, Earns UFC Contract

Roque Conceicao Moreira Junior earned an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract on Tuesday with a dramatic first-round submission victory over Alexander Chavez. The flyweight bout took place during Week 9 of Dana White's Contender Series Season 10 at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas on Oct. 6. After standing his ground in early striking exchanges, Moreira Junior locked in a triangle choke and held the hold even after being slammed to the canvas, forcing Chavez to tap out at 3:37 of the opening round.

The victory improved Moreira Junior's professional record to 12-3 while handing Chavez the first loss of his career, dropping him to 9-1. It also served as redemption for the Brazilian, who was stopped via first-round technical knockout by Imanol Rodriguez during his previous DWCS appearance in Season 9 last year. Moreira Junior compared the high-stakes recruitment bout to playing in the World Cup, calling it the best day of his life.

"This is like being in the World Cup, you know?" Moreira Junior said after the win. "I worked so hard for this, and I thank everyone; I thank God and thank my team. This is a unique moment, and I am never gonna live this moment again."

UFC CEO Dana White was thoroughly impressed by the back-and-forth action, praising both fighters before awarding Moreira Junior an official UFC contract. "This was an incredible fight," White said. "Nasty kicks, great exchanges, then the slam right into the triangle.

What I loved about your fight was everything. We got to see you in a lot of different areas—striking, kicking, taking kicks, taking strikes, and winning by submission impressively."