Kiwi lightweight Brad Riddell has been dispatched in quick fashion by Renato Moicano in their UFC 281 bout at New York City's Madison Square Garden on Sunday (NZ time), falling to a first-round submission loss.
The Brazilian bolted out of the gates, establishing himself in the middle of the Octagon and using his height advantage to excellent effect with a stinging jab, while Riddell struggled to close the distance.
Moments after opening up a cut underneath Riddell's right eye, Moicano - a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt - dragged 'Quake' to the mat and quickly worked his way to his back.
Carrying Moicano's weight and leaking blood across the canvas, Riddell didn't attempt to fight his opponent's hands as the squeeze tightened and eventually had no choice but to tap to the rear-naked choke just over three minutes into the opening round.
The defeat is the City Kickboxing product's third on the trot, taking his overall MMA record to 10-4.
Earlier, Riddell's teammate Carlos Ulberg scored a head-turning first-round knockout against Romanian Nicolae Negumereanu.
Dan Hooker will lead off the main card, with Israel Adesanya's middleweight title grudge match against Alex Pereira to follow in the headline act.
