Silva submits Chagas, Formiga tops Ortiz in UFC Brasilia prelims

Catchweight (158 lbs) Bout: Michel Prazeres def. Gilbert Burns via unanimous decision

Michel Prazeres' newfound sense of urgency didn't net him a finish, but it was enough to sway the judges.

"Trator" pressured Gilbert Burns from start to finish to earn his third straight victory. Wanting no part of Burns' vaunted jiu-jitsu, Prazeres kept the fight standing and consistently stalked "Durinho" in pursuit of his first UFC finish. The 35-year-old put all he had into his strikes, and it was Burns, five years Prazeres' junior, who began to tire as the fight wore on.

Prazeres landed the harder shots throughout, with Burns content to counter in the first two frames. The elder Brazilian repeatedly stuffed Burns' takedown attempts, but paid for his defense with a stiff knee to the face midway through the fight.

Prazeres pulled away in the third, rocking Burns with a shot to the body before coasting on the feet the rest of the way. "Durinho" hoped to recover on the ground and ultimately submit Prazeres, only to be rewarded with hammer fists.

A submission artist specializing in armbars, Burns' greatest chance at victory would've come on the ground, but Prazeres wouldn't grant him the pleasure, as he peppered "Durinho" with combinations to the legs and midsection.

Burns has alternated wins and losses in his past four fights. His UFC record falls to 4-2.

Bantamweight Bout: Rani Yahya def. Michinori Tanaka via unanimous decision

Rani Yahya and Michinori Tanaka left it all on the mat on Saturday.

After three entertaining rounds of gorgeous grappling, it was Yahya who had his hand raised with a trio of 29-28 scores in his favor.

A fourth straight win puts Yahya in elite company. His streak is the second-longest in the bantamweight division, trailing only champion Dominick Cruz. Yahya's UFC record now stands at 8-2, with a spotless 4-0 record at 135 pounds.

Yahya did his best to wrap the fight up early. He opened the first round by tripping Tanaka and immediately diving in for an arm-triangle choke. The fighters remained locked in this position for over two minutes, their movements almost imperceptible. Tanaka stayed calm until he was able to slip out and scramble into Yahya's guard.

The Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert was content to work from his back against Tanaka, absorbing some light ground-and-pound in pursuit of a triangle choke. A submission would not materialize, but that opening round set the stage for 10 more minutes of hard grappling.

In Rounds 2 and 3, Yahya continued to go all out with his takedown attempts. It didn't matter to him whether he finished on top or on the bottom, he was determined to force Tanaka into a jiu-jitsu match. To Tanaka's credit, he did not shy away from the duel and actually had the advantage in several exchanges.

But Yahya's second-degree black belt was evident as he maneuvered into back control, side control, and generally stayed one step ahead of Tanaka at every turn.

Tanaka loses for just the second time in his career. He falls to 2-2 inside the Octagon.

Flyweight Bout: Jussier Formiga def. Dustin Ortiz via unanimous decision

Jussier Formiga gave Dustin Ortiz a three-round lesson in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

In a throwback clash of grappling disciplines, Formiga dominated the wrestler on the ground to take all three scorecards for his 11th win by decision. After a first-round stalemate, Formiga clamped down on Ortiz's back in the final two frames, but the rear-naked choke remained elusive.

Round 1 saw the grapplers trade top position on the canvas, as Ortiz transitioned from his back to Formiga's guard midway through to land a steady stream of ground-and-pound. The Tennessee native showed impressive footwork when the fight was upright, but repeatedly betrayed a raw striking arsenal. Ortiz failed to mount combinations, and often overextended on his punches, leaving his back ripe for the taking.

The durable Ortiz has yet to be finished in 21 pro fights, but he's now dropped three of his last four.

Welterweight Bout: Erick Silva def. Luan Chagas via 3rd-round submission (rear-naked choke)

For the first time in his UFC career, Erick Silva showed he's more than a one-round wonder.

The unpredictable Brazilian survived a few hairy moments to make it to the third round, where he forced Luan Chagas to tap with a slick rear-naked choke submission.

The win snapped a two-fight losing streak for Silva, who had been knocked out by Nordine Taleb in his most recent outing. His UFC record now stands at 7-6.

With his fifth submission in the Octagon, Silva is now tied for the second-most submission wins in UFC welterweight history with the legendary Matt Hughes. Silva and Hughes trail only Chris Lytle (six).

It was also the first time in 13 UFC appearances that Silva won a fight that went past the opening round. He hadn't accomplished the feat since October 2010.

The fight started off poorly for Silva. Chagas scored first blood, landing a left hook to plant him against the cage. Chagas was fast to follow up, but Silva recovered.

A knee up the middle hurt Silva again, and it looked like Round 1 would be all Chagas. However, a badly missed kick exposed him to a strike from Silva that knocked him down, putting the score in question after the first five minutes of action.

Midway through the second, Chagas connected with another left hand to rock Silva. Down on the mat, Chagas was able to land plenty of elbows before advancing to mount and attacking with an armbar.

Unfortunately for Chagas, he sacrificed position in that submission attempt, and Silva capitalized by taking his back. Chagas fought off the ensuing choke attempt, but the match was a toss-up going into the final frame.

In the third, Silva made sure the judges would not be needed. He pushed the pace against a clearly tiring Chagas, and when his opponent shot in for a sloppy takedown, Silva simply stepped over him before slapping on the fight-ending submission.

The 23-year-old Chagas remains winless in the UFC after going to a split draw with Sergio Moraes in his debut this past May.