UFC on FOX 8 results/photos: Yaotzin Meza wins submission battle vs. John Albert

SEATTLE – Yaotzin Meza stayed patient after getting himself in trouble, and it worked to his advantage.

Meza had to survive a lengthy triangle choke attempt from John Albert, but once free, he quickly took advantage to finish the fight with a second-round rear-naked choke.

The 137-pound catchweight bout (Albert missed weight) opened up today’s UFC on FOX 8 event at KeyArena in Seattle. It streamed on Facebook ahead of additional prelims on FX and a main card on FOX.

Albert looked to fire early with combos and kicks, but Meza fired right back. Meza got a quick takedown just 20 seconds in, and it sent Albert to work out of his guard. Albert looked for a triangle choke from the ground, but when he got back to his feet, he had to quickly scramble out of danger from a Meza guillotine choke.

From there, Albert got to side control and looked for an armbar. Meza tried to roll out of danger, but Albert held tight and the two battled for position. Meza finally worked his arm free and looked to land ground-and-pound from half-guard. Meza latched onto a guillotine, then popped up to mount while keeping the choke in place. Albert survived the round, but it was one that had swung into Meza’s favor.

Meza opened with a big leg kick early in the second, and it appeared to take Albert off balance. But Albert got a triangle choke in place after a scramble, and he had Meza in some trouble. Meza tried to work his way out and finally did – when Albert seemed to just let the choke go.

Meza took advantage of a potentially gassed-out Albert by taking his back, looking for a rear-naked choke. He flattened him out in back mount moments later, latched onto the choke again and got Albert to tap. The finish came at the 2:49 mark of the second.

“We knew he was going to go out there and that we were going to have a strong first round,” Meza said. “I’ve seen his videos, and he always comes out strong in the first round, then dies off. … I felt his legs starting to get tired and when he gave me a little breather, I was able to get out. Once I got out, I felt his whole body was dead, so I was able to control him. I wanted to keep hitting him, but then I figured we might as well just get it over with. So I took control and finished it off.”

Meza (20-8 MMA, 1-1 UFC) picked up his first UFC win after losing his debut in December – a fight he took against Chad Mendes on just five days’ notice. After a win in his UFC debut, “TUF 14? vet Albert (7-5 MMA, 1-4 UFC) now has lost four straight and very likely will be looking for work outside the promotion for his next fight.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on FOX 8 results include:

• Yaotzin Meza def. John Albert via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:49

For complete coverage of UFC on FOX 8, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

John Morgan and Steven Marrocco contributed to this report on-site in Seattle.