UFC 181 results, photos: Raquel Pennington chokes out Ashlee Evans-Smith in first

Raquel Pennington

LAS VEGAS – A small tactical mistake turned the lights out on UFC newcomer Ashlee Evans-Smith and brought triumph for Raquel Pennington.

Pennington (5-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC) grabbed a choke hold in the waning seconds of the opening frame and secured a submission with one tick left to go on the clock against Evans-Smith (3-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC).

The women’s bantamweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC 181 event at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. It aired on FOX Sports 1 following additional prelims on UFC Fight Pass and ahead of the main card on pay-per-view.

The official time of stoppage was 4:59 of the first round, as referee Mark Smith stepped in to save Evans-Smith, who went unconscious as Pennington applied a bulldog choke.

Pennington, a veteran of “The Ultimate Fighter 18,” turned the tide after a rocky start in the frame as Evans-Smith bullied her against the cage and opened a cut with a knee that bled generously. The UFC newcomer, however, left herself exposed as she went for a headlock that could have given Pennington the position for a choke.

Instead, Pennington grabbed Evans-Smith’s legs and deposited her to the mat. As Evans-Smith recovered to her feet, Pennington seized ahold of the choke.

It was Pennington’s second UFC win and put her back on track following a split-call loss to Jessica Andrade in her previous outing. Evans-Smith, who replaced an injured Holly Holm, suffered her first loss as a professional.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 181 results include:

For more on UFC 181, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan and Ben Fowlkes contributed to this report on site in Las Vegas.)