UFC Fight Night 95 results: Erick Silva chokes out Luan Chagas in third with sneaky step-behind move

BRASILIA, Brazil – For nearly three full rounds Erick Silva and Luan Chagas traded power shots, knockdowns and near finishes.

But with both fighters looking weary as the fight entered its final minutes, it was Silva (19-7 MMA, 7-6 UFC) who found the gas to finish, snatching a rear-naked choke after a failed Chagas (14-2-1 MMA, 0-1-1 UFC) takedown attempt to force the tap at the 3:57 mark of Round 3.

The welterweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC Fight Night 95 event at Nilson Nelson Gymnasium in the Brazilian capital of Brasilia. It aired on FS1 following additional prelims on UFC Fight Pass and ahead of a main card on FS1.

Judging by the way the two went after each other in the first round, the biggest surprise of the bout might be that it lasted as long as it did. After hurting Chagas with body kicks early in the opening frame, Silva was dropped by a heavy left hook later in the round, forcing him to rally just to stay in the fight.

The back and forth action continued in the second, as Silva and Chagas took turns putting each other down and battering one another with ground-and-pound. After Chagas seemed to have Silva hurt late in the round, Silva rebounded to take Chagas’ back just long enough to try for the choke as time ran out.

Entering the third, both men were clearly feeling the effects of a long, hard fight, but it was Silva who seemed to be the fresher man. While Chagas retained his ability to hurt Silva with one solid punch, Silva snapped off the cleaner punches, outworking Chagas with his jab. As Chagas tried to parlay a solid hold on Silva’s wrist into a low single-leg takedown, Silva deftly slipped out and jumped immediately to Chagas’ back, locking up the rear-naked choke as he collapsed onto Chagas and stretched him out.

The forearm slipped easily under Chagas’ chin, leaving him with no other choice but to submit and give Silva the hard-earned victory.

Silva’s win snaps a two-fight losing streak in the UFC, giving him his first victory since March 2015. Chagas is now winless in two outings with the UFC.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 95 results include:

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 95, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan and Fernanda Prates contributed to this report on site in Brasilia.)