Ortega submits Swanson with 2nd-round guillotine in UFC Fresno closer

Why wait until the third round?

After finishing each of his first four UFC opponents in the third stanza, Brian Ortega submitted Cub Swanson with a stunning guillotine choke in the second frame Saturday of UFC Fight Night 123's featherweight main event in Fresno, Calif.

The 26-year-old kept his record unblemished in the stiffest test of his 13-fight career via a second straight stoppage via guillotine.

After he and Swanson staged a tentative striking chess match to open the contest, Ortega looked to ride his deadly jiu-jitsu skills late in Round 1, slapping on a front headlock before trapping Swanson in an airtight anaconda choke he had to gut out to see the second frame.

The 34-year-old Swanson looked to resume his dissection of Ortega in the second stanza, mixing up strikes and repeatedly connecting with blows to his foe's midsection, prompting Ortega to shoot for a takedown against the fence. In yet another display of his brilliant grappling, the Los Angeles native pulled guard once Swanson had defended the shot and stunned him with an arm-in guillotine. The veteran did his damnedest to fight Ortega's hands and escape the submission, but the tap out artist adjusted to keep Swanson in the choke and leave him no choice but to put himself out of his misery at the 3:22 mark.

Swanson aimed to finish his UFC contract with a fifth consecutive victory before returning to the negotiating table in pursuit of a re-up with the company, only to see the gamble backfire with a sixth career loss by submission. The WEC veteran has tapped in every one of his four defeats in the Octagon.