Lee snaps Trinaldo's streak with 2nd-round tapout to cap UFC Fortaleza prelims

Lightweight Bout: Kevin Lee def. Francisco Trinaldo via 2nd-round submission (rear-naked choke)

Kevin Lee had to dig deep to get the W on Saturday.

After being lit up in the opening round, "The Motown Phenom" turned the tables to snatch control of Francisco Trinaldo's back and sink in a rear-naked choke for the comeback submission at the 3:12 mark Round 2.

Lee's second consecutive tapout snapped Trinaldo's seven-fight win streak, extended his own winning run to four straight and gave him the gumption to call out top contender Khabib Nurmagomedov immediately after the official decision.

The 24-year-old was promptly put on thin ice in the opening round, as Trinaldo closed the distance at will and rocked him early with an anvil of an overhand left. Lee's wrestling instincts took over in response to Trinaldo's offense, but he didn't make it to the closing horn without eating a few more zingers for his trouble.

It was midway through the second round that the Detroit native turned the tables, stunning "Massaranduba" with a perfectly timed head kick. Trinaldo shot for a takedown in rebuttal, but Lee swiftly stuffed the shot to end up in full mount. From there, it was a matter of mere seconds before the youngster moved to back control to trap the gassed veteran in the fight-ending submission.

Lee's Octagon record improves to a solid 8-2 with his fourth win by way of rear-naked choke, while the 11th-ranked Trinaldo's first loss in his home country in over three years brings his UFC slate to 11-4.

Welterweight Bout: Sergio Moraes def. Davi Ramos via unanimous decision

A battle between two of the UFC's most accomplished grapplers turned into a lukewarm kickboxing match.

As so often happens when two jiu-jitsu experts find themselves at a stalemate, Sergio Moraes and Davi Ramos reverted to their less impressive striking games for a three-round struggle that Moraes won by unanimous decision.

While it wasn't the prettiest performance, Moraes remains undefeated in his past seven fights, the best streak in the welterweight division. He hasn't been defeated since losing in his UFC debut in June 2012.

For his part, Ramos replaced an injured Max Griffin on just a week's notice, and had to move up from his natural class at lightweight to get the booking. His size disadvantage proved to be his undoing, as Moraes consistently outpointed him from distance with kicks and counter-punches.

The action never got out of first gear, with neither man landing a particularly decisive blow or attempting to bring the fight to the mat where they could work their magic. Regardless, Moraes did enough to convince all three judges to score the fight 30-27 in his favor.

Ramos sees a two-fight win streak snapped in his UFC debut, and falls to 6-2 in his pro career.

Bantamweight Bout: Joe Soto def. Rani Yahya via unanimous decision

Beating Rani Yahya is a tall enough order. Joe Soto had to do it as several quarts of blood leaked from his noggin.

After an inadvertent clash of heads opened up a ghastly gash on his head early in the second round of their bantamweight clash, Soto fought through the crimson mask to take a hard-earned decision over the seasoned Yahya.

Watch: Joe Soto fights through gushing head cut to pick up win

Yahya kept Soto honest with some prolific striking from the outside in Round 1, but while the headbutt and resulting blood loss would have sealed most fighters' doom, Soto oddly appeared to grow stronger the more blood gushed from his head, pressuring and dialing up his own striking output as Yahya's waned before finishing the middle frame in full mount.

With their bloody dance tied up at one round apiece heading into Round 3, Soto dug deep to take the fight to the mat and keep the fatiguing Yahya pinned there, primarily from side control, and leave the canvas looking like a ruby red Jackson Pollock painting.

Three poor saps were tasked with cleaning up Soto's mess once his hand had been raised:

The 29-year-old Soto has rebounded from three straight UFC losses with a vengeance, winning as many fights over the past nine months. His first decision victory in over five years snaps Yahya's four-fight win streak.

Lightweight Bout: Michel Prazeres def. Josh Burkman via 1st-round submission (north-south choke)

Michel Prazeres' first finish in almost five years was one to remember.

After picking up five UFC victories by decision, Prazeres needed less than two minutes to pull off a stunning submission win over Josh Burkman on Saturday. The stout Brazilian rocked Burkman early before transitioning to a north-south choke that had Burkman tapping out at the 1:41 mark of Round 1:

Making the result even more memorable was Burkman's apparent retirement following the swift loss. The 36-year-old veteran left his gloves in the cage, which broadcaster Brian Stann later explained was a farewell to the Octagon, not fighting altogether.

This was Burkman's 16th UFC appearance and his 44th professional fight overall.

Prazeres' ninth submission win was his first finish since March 31, 2012. He has now won four straight bouts and improves his professional record to a gaudy 22-2.

According to MMAjunkie's Mike Bohn, Prazeres' north-south choke submission is only the fourth in UFC history.