Spicely submits Santos in 1st-round for massive upset

To the surprise of no one, the fight never saw the second round, but to the surprise of many, it was Eric Spicely who notched the finish.

Spicely trapped knockout artist Thiago Santos in a rear-naked choke less than three minutes into their middleweight bout at UFC Fight Night 95 in Brasilia on Saturday. The 29-year-old neutralized Santos' deadly striking by taking the fight to the ground, trapping the visibly uncomfortable "Marreta" in an omoplata.

Santos would return to his feet, only to give Spicely his back moments later. When the Brazilian leaned against the cage to lighten the load, "The Dream Catcher" cleverly shifted his weight forward to force Santos' hands to the canvas, leaving his neck exposed for the choke.

After dropping his promotional debut to Sam Alvey, Spicely not only atoned with the upset, he drafted the blueprint to defeating one of the division's most feared strikers.

Santos has now dropped two straight after mounting a four-fight win streak with three highlight-reel knockouts. Anything less than an early finish of Spicely would have been labeled a subpar performance, but the upset, coupled with the thrashing he was handed by Gegard Mousasi at UFC 200, puts his future in doubt.

Santos' UFC record falls to 5-4.