UFC Fight Night 96 results: Huge underdog Brandon Moreno chokes out Louis Smolka in first

PORTLAND, Ore. – Brandon Moreno made his UFC debut against an opponent who was a 5-1 favorite in Louis Smolka.

Less than three minutes into the opening round, Moreno (12-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC) locked up a guillotine choke on Smolka (11-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) and kept after it until Smolka seemed to lose consciousness just as he tapped, bringing a stop to the fight at the 2:23 mark of Round 1.

The flyweight bout opened up the main card of today’s UFC Fight Night 96 event at Moda Center in Portland, Ore. It aired on FS1 following prelims on FS2 and UFC Fight Pass.

Moreno signaled his willingness to meet Smolka head-on in the opening seconds of the bout, then threatened him with a takedown right away. But as Smolka looked to reverse the position with a single-leg after scrambling to his feet, that’s when he left his neck exposed.

Moreno wasted no time latching on with a guillotine choke, which he then used to roll Smolka over. After Smolka forced his way back up again, Moreno immediately dropped back to his guard to finish the choke, treating Smolka’s neck like a hose he was trying to put a kink into and ultimately forcing the tap just as Smolka’s body went limp.

The submission victory represents a tremendous upset for Moreno, who was a considerable underdog as a replacement opponent for the up-and-coming Smolka.

The win brings Moreno’s overall win streak as a professional to nine straight fights, with his last loss coming in June 2012. Smolka’s loss snaps a four-fight winning streak.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 96 results include:

• Brandon Moreno def. Louis Smolka via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 2:23
• Luis Henrique da Silva def. Joachim Christensen via submission (armbar) – Round 2, 4:43
• Andre Fili def. Hacran Dias via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Shamil Abdurakhimov def. Walt Harris via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos def. Keita Nakamura via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Nate Marquardt def. Tamdan McCrory via knockout (head kick) – Round 2, 4:44
• Ion Cutelaba def. Jonathan Wilson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Curtis Blaydes def. Cody East via TKO (elbows) – Round 2, 2:02
• Ketlen Vieira def. Kelly Faszholz via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 96, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan and Steven Marrocco contributed to this report on site in Portland.)