Maia submits Brown after dominant performance on UFC 198 prelims

Welterweight Bout: Demian Maia def. Matt Brown via 3rd-round submission (rear-naked choke)

Demian Maia submitted Matt Brown after putting on a grappling clinic that Brown is likely to remember for the rest of his life.

The Brazilian fans were treated to a jiu-jitsu clinic as Maia latched onto Brown and achieved back control in every round. Though he had long established that he was the superior fighter, Maia made sure to put an exclamation point on his performance with a tight rear-naked choke that forced Brown to tap out with less than 30 seconds left in round 3:

Throughout the contest, there was nothing Brown could do once Maia got his hooks in. Resembling a sinister python more than a human being, Maia effortlessly maneuvered himself onto Brown's back where he locked on with a suffocating body triangle.

Brown did his best to stay out of danger, but Maia was constantly pressuring him with short punches and attempts to improve his position. In every round, Maia was able to completely neutralize any possible avenue of attack for Brown.

The loss is the third in four contests for Brown, and the first by submission since he was tapped by Seth Baczynski in November 2011.

Maia now owns a five-fight winning streak in the UFC welterweight division, and he sports an 8-2 record since making the move to 170 pounds in 2012. He owns 17 wins in the Octagon, behind only Georges St-Pierre, Matt Hughes, and Michael Bisping.

During his post-fight interview, Maia declared himself ready for a title shot.

Middleweight Bout: Thiago Santos def. Nate Marquardt via 1st-round KO

Knockout artist Thiago "Marreta" Santos painted another gruesome portrait with a knockout of Nate Marquardt at UFC 198.

A one-time middleweight title contender, Marquardt wilted under the brutal strikes of Santos until a straight left to the temple knocked him out at 3:39 of the first round.

Santos' speed was just too much for Marquardt, a veteran of over 50 MMA contests. The rangy Santos used kicks to the body to open Marquardt up for the head strikes that led to fight's finishing sequence.

A left hand to the jaw hurt Marquardt badly and while his chin held up, he had no answer for the attacks that followed. More shots to the body chipped away at Marquardt and it was only a matter of time before Santos landed the telling blow to record his fourth knockout in five UFC wins.

Santos wins his fourth straight to improve to 5-2 in the Octagon, while Marquardt falls to 2-3 in his second stint at 185 pounds.

Lightweight Bout: Francisco Trinaldo def. Yancy Medeiros via unanimous decision

The official result was a unanimous decision win for Francisco Trinaldo, but both he and Yancy Medeiros were big winners after throwing down in a "Fight of the Year" on Saturday.

For fifteen astonishing minutes, Trinaldo and Medeiros bashed each other with everything they had, with Trinaldo eventually coming out ahead on the scorecards:

Trinaldo is a Curitiba resident and the Brazilian fans packed into the Arena da Baixada could tell that something special was in the air when Trinaldo closed out the opening frame with a relentless assault on Medeiros:

The 28-year-old Hawaiian bent but never broke even as he received more of the same treatment from Trinaldo in the second round. His persistence paid off when he managed to crack Trinaldo on the chin with a big right that sat him down.

Were it not for the stiff blow coming near the end of the round, Medeiros might have been able to finish the fight. Instead, fans were treated to one more round of brutal action. Trinaldo hit Medeiros with an overhand right, a flying knee, and multiple body shots, but Medeiros was able to make it to the bell.

Trinaldo won his sixth straight UFC fight, tying him with Khabib Nurmagomedov for the second-longest streak in the lightweight division. He also won in Brazil for the seventh time since joining the UFC.

Bantamweight Bout: John Lineker def. Rob Font via unanimous decision

Former flyweight John Lineker looks like he's half the size of his opponents at 135 pounds.

Luckily, he hits twice as hard.

Lineker won a unanimous decision against Rob Font, a taller opponent, who was constantly backing up as he dealt with the furious fists of the fiery Brazilian. After putting in good work in the first two rounds, Lineker pressed on with a ground-and-pound assault in the closing seconds to clinch the victory:

In the first round, Font could only stay away from the aggressive Lineker for so long. Font used his clearly superior reach to keep Lineker at bay, but the Brazilian bomber capitalized on the brief openings to land his punches.

It was not uncommon to see Lineker lower his head to duck in and throw hooks at Font's head and body. Font had more success with the jab in the second round, with Lineker countering by hopping in for short, effective hooks.

Lineker's aggression paid off as he won his fourth straight fight, and his second since transitioning to the bantamweight division. For Font, the decision loss snaps an 11-fight winning streak and he falls to 2-1 in the UFC.