UFC Fight Night 65 results: Bec Rawlings brutalizes Lisa Ellis for first-round choke

Bec Rawlings

ADELAIDE, Australia – Bec Rawlings didn’t get off to the greatest start against Lisa Ellis, but that didn’t stop her from achieving a great ending.

After hurting Ellis (15-10 MMA, 0-2 UFC) with knees in the clinch late in the first, Rawlings (6-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC) took her back and snapped on a rear-naked choke, forcing the submission finish at the 4:09 mark of Round 1.

The strawweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC Fight Night 65 event at Adelaide Entertainment Centre in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. It streamed on UFC Fight Pass.

Ellis wasted no time putting Rawlings on her back and going to work from the top in this one. If anything, Ellis might have gotten a little overeager in search of a submission. As she spun for an armbar from the top, Ellis let Rawlings pull her arm free and seize the top position, where the Australian Rawlings went right to work with ground-and-pound.

Ellis would get back to her feet, but Rawlings stayed after her, battering her with knees to the body and the head in close. The prompted Ellis to try for a desperate takedown, which gave Rawlings all the opening she needed to take Ellis’ back and sink the choke.

With a cut over Rawlings’ eye dripping blood on the mat, she squeezed the choke on tight as Ellis looked helplessly for an escape. When none presented itself, she had no choice but to tap, handing Rawlings the submission victory.

The victory is Rawlings’ first in the UFC, snapping a two-fight losing streak. Ellis has now lost two in a row.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 65 results include:

For more on UFC Fight Night 65, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan contributed to this report on site in Adelaide.)