The 18-year-old Isreali's 11 second submission win was completely rehearsed, just like Jorge Masvidal's 5 second flying knee knockout last month

  • Aviv Gozali’s 11 second submission win was completely rehearsed backstage.
  • Gozali broke a new Bellator MMA record when he finished his opponent Eduard Muravitsky seconds after the opening bell.
  • The event was broadcast on DAZN and DAZN’s MMA expert Robin Black showed exclusive coverage of Gozali working on the heel hook with his father, Haim Gozali, backstage.
  • This attention to detail is reminiscent of the work that went into Jorge Masvidal’s UFC record breaking knockout win over Ben Askren, last month.
  • Masvidal hit Askren with a flying knee seconds after the opening bell at UFC 239, knocking the previously unbeaten wrestler out in five seconds.
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Aviv Gozali’s 11 second submission win on Saturday was completely rehearsed,just like Jorge Masvidal’s five second flying knee knockout in July.

Gozali, an 18-year-old Israeli, was headline news because of his record-breaking finish at the Bellator 225 event at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

The jiu jitsu specialist ignored Eduard Muravitsky’s gesture to touch gloves to instead imanari roll into a single leg takedown. Seconds later, he had a grip on his ankle and positioned himself into a heel hook.

Read more:MMA firm Bellator wants to exploit a market that has been largely neglected by the UFC, and Conor McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh is a crucial part of the plan

Muravitsky tapped out 11 seconds into the fight and a Bellator MMA record had been set.

Gozali had executed the fastest ever submission win in the company’s history, ran around the Bellator cage to celebrate, and then got his arm raised as the 165-pound catchweight winner.

Gozali.Bellator MMA

But the submission was something he had been practised to perfection before the event.

After Bellator 225, DAZN’s MMA expert Robin Black said “it was all be design.”

Black showed an exclusive clip on his Twitter account of Gozali “setting this up, training it, rehearshing it” backstage with his father, the 46-year-old fourth degree Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt Haim Gozali.

Watch Black’s breakdown here:

Gozali not the first fighter this year to break a record

Gozali’s Bellator record follows Masvidal’s UFC record last month.

Jorge Masvidal.Photo by Christian Petersen/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC

Welterweight fighter Masvidal faced the previously unbeaten wrestler Ben Askren at UFC 239 in Las Vegas.

Masvidal, with his back to the Octagon fence, waited for the referee to go through his final instructions. And as soon as the action was called, he took a sidestep then lunged at Askren, who instinctively went for a takedown.

The Floridian seemingly knew this and jumped into his flying knee, connecting with Askren’s face who fell concussed to the floor. Masvidalcelebrated by mocking his unconscious opponent, and said later he never belonged in the UFC to begin with.

Read more:Jorge Masvidal said Ben Askren doesn’t even belong in the UFC after he got obliterated in a couple of seconds

Within one day, it became increasingly apparent that JorgeMasvidal’s five second knockout win was completely rehearsed in the gym.

Masvidal trains at the Florida-based American Top Team gym and one of the gym’s coachesposted a video on Instagram showing Masvidal “drilling” the flying knee 48 hours before he stunned Askren.

Another American Top Team fighter, the interim UFC lightweight champion Dustin Poirier, posted a tweet that appeared to show a screenshot of a text message.

The text message, sent hours before Masvidal had even entered the cage, said Masvidal was planning to hit Askren with a flying knee as soon as the fight started.

Masvidal’s fame catapult as a result and he is now on a collision course with Nate Diaz, as the pair look to fight for the mythical “baddest mother-f—– in the game belt.”

Read more: Jorge Masvidal says he’s in negotiations for a UFC fight with Nate Diaz which would look like ‘two dogs, locked in a cage, going for the jugular’

It is unclear who Gozali will fight next.

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