Beating the Odds: UFC 212

Not much was expected from Brian Kelleher in his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut, but he turned the tables on Iuri Alcantara and the oddsmakers.

A short-notice fill-in for Felipe Arantes, Kelleher submitted Alcantara with a guillotine choke in the first round of their preliminary bantamweight battle at UFC 212 “Aldo vs. Holloway” on Saturday at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro. Alcantara, who had not lost via submission since he tapped to a Mauricio Reis kneebar on Oct. 3, 2009, bowed out 1:48 into Round 1. Kelleher entered the cage as a +325 underdog, per BetDSI.com.

Alcantara (-400) showed little regard for the promotional newcomer’s skills, as the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt closed the distance and took an aggressive tack. He lit up Kelleher with body kicks and straight left hands -- he outlanded the Oceanside, New York, native 12-4 and outhrew him 29-15, according to FightMetric data -- before shooting for a poorly conceived takedown. Kelleher countered with a slick arm-in guillotine and prompted a meek tapout from the former Jungle Fight champion. The 30-year-old has rattled off seven consecutive victories, none more significant than this one.

Another UFC rookie was not as fortunate. Ex-World Series of Fighting bantamweight titleholder Marlon Moraes (-275) made his first appearance inside the Octagon opposite Raphael Assuncao (+215) on the undercard and wound up on the wrong side of a split decision. Scores were 29-28 for Moraes, 29-28 and 30-27 for Assuncao.

All three rounds were competitive and difficult to assess, though Moraes outstruck Assuncao by a narrow 44-43 margin when the final inventory was taken. Neither man was successful in the takedown department, as they combined to go 0-for-3 with their attempts.

The loss snapped a 13-fight winning streak for Moraes, who tasted defeat for the first time since he submitted to a Deividas Taurosevicius arm-triangle choke more than five years ago.

Finally, Max Holloway (+137) shrugged at his being listed as a slight underdog and shot down Jose Aldo (-180) with third-round punches to become the undisputed UFC featherweight champion in the main event. The end came 4:13 into Round 3, as Aldo suffered just his second loss in 21 fights and passed the 145-pound torch to the Hawaiian.

Positioned for a historic reign at 145 pounds, the 25-year-old Holloway finds himself on a remarkable 11-fight tear that includes victories over Aldo, Anthony Pettis, Ricardo Lamas, Jeremy Stephens, Charles Oliveira and Cub Swanson.