NASHVILLE – Brandon Moreno was being out-wrestled by Dustin Ortiz with no sign that he could stop the onslaught.
Then a head kick put Ortiz (16-7 MMA, 5-5 UFC) on the mat, and suddenly fortunes had changed as Moreno (14-3 MMA, 3-0 UFC) moments later locked up a rear-naked choke to force the submission finish at the 4:06 mark of Round 2.
The flyweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC Fight Night 108 event at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. It aired on FS2 following additional prelims on UFC Fight Pass and ahead of a main card on FS1.
The turnaround was as sudden as it was necessary for Moreno. His first round against Ortiz saw him taken down again and again as Ortiz exploited his advantage in the grappling department.
To his credit, Moreno managed to do everything he could off his back, including pulling off unexpected sweeps and initiating some exciting scrambles. But Ortiz was the stronger wrestler, and that allowed him to control Moreno for the majority of an opening round that he likely won on the scorecards.
Moreno seemed to be headed for more of the same in the second frame, but after making it back to his feet following an initial takedown, Moreno launched a head kick that landed just behind Ortiz’s ear, flattening him in a single blow.
Ortiz would recover quickly, but by then Moreno was already on his back, locking in the body triangle and looking for the rear-naked choke. Ortiz initially defended well, but Moreno stayed after him and soon snaked his forearm under Ortiz’s chin, squeezing for the choke as Ortiz appeared to be on the verge of losing unconsciousness as the bout was halted.
The win makes it three in a row for Moreno, who is unbeaten in the UFC. Ortiz has now lost three of his last four.
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 108 results include:
For complete coverage UFC Fight Night 108, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan and Dann Stupp contributed to this report on site in Nashville.)
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