UFC Fight Night 38 results: Jussier Formiga taps out Scott Jorgensen in first round

NATAL, Brazil – It looked to be an inadvertent clash of heads that got Scott Jorgensen started down the wrong track, but Jussier Formiga sealed it with a rear-naked choke submission to force the tap at 3:07 of the first round.

The flyweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC Fight Night 38 event Ginasio Nelio Dias in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. It aired on FOX Sports 1 following an additional prelim on UFC Fight Pass and ahead of the main card on FOX Sports 1.

The turning point in the bout came early on in the first. As Jorgensen pawed forward behind his jab, Formiga dropped low and came up winging a left just in time to catch Jorgensen squarely in the teeth with the point of his head. Jorgensen looked slightly dazed as he reeled backward and was then easily pushed to the mat by Formiga, who immediately pounced on him and locked up back control.

From there all it took was a few punches to the side of the head to soften Jorgensen up, then Formiga slipped in the choke and waited for the tap. As it turned out, he wouldn’t have to wait long.

It didn’t take long for Jorgensen to hit Twitter after tapping out, obviously taking umbrage with the headbutt.

Fucking headbutt wake up in a choke. Get dropped by a head butt ah fuck it.

— Scott jorgensen (@Scottjorgensen) March 23, 2014

“Scott was the favorite. Everyone I fight is the favorite,” Formiga said. “This win proves that I’m able to beat tough opponents. I’m here to prove I’m one of the top fighters in my division.”

“He jumped in and when I threw, he headbutted me,” Jorgensen said. “It was enough to wobble me. I woke up on the ground defending a rear-naked choke.”

With the win, Formiga (16-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) bounces back from a TKO loss to Joseph Benavidez in September to bring his UFC record to an even .500. Jorgensen (14-9 MMA, 3-5 UFC) has now lost three in a row.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 38 results include:

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 38, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

John Morgan contributed to this report on-site in Brazil.