Brian Ortega (13-0) showed he belongs right in the thick of the UFC Featherweight division in his stunning second-round submission victory over Cub Swanson (25-8).
Ortega traded blows with Swanson for much of the first round before moving into the clinch and taking Swanson down with a tight guillotine. Ortega took him to the ground in the chokehold and had it locked in, likely seconds from the submission victory as the round ended.
In the second, Swanson was much more aggressive, picking away at Ortega and connecting on nasty body-head-body combinations. Ortega got into the clinch yet again, moving Swanson back into the cage before locking in the guillotine yet again. He jumped, kicked off the cage and locked the choke in with his legs wrapped around Swanson.
As Swanson attempted to push Ortega's legs down, Ortega adjusted his grip on the fly, locked it in tighter and cranked on Swanson's neck, earning the tap out victory.
After the bout, Swanson noted he "felt like (he) was going to die," while locked into he chokehold.
Ortega is unbeaten in his career, with this as arguably his biggest win to date.
Swanson suffered the loss after rattling off four consecutive wins. His last loss was against Featherweight Champion Max Holloway, via third-round submission.
After the bout, Ortega said he didn't want to be cocky, but hopes to get a fight against the winner of Holloway-Frankie Edgar.
