Brazilian strawweight Claudia Gadelha (15-2) rolled to a first-round submission victory over Karolina Kowalkiewicz (10-2), locking in a rear-naked choke at 3:03 of the opening round.
The UFC 212 co-main event looked like a close matchup on paper, but it was anything but once Gadelha dragged Kowalkiewicz to the floor. She quickly transitioned to the Polish strawweight's back and sank in the choke -- her first finish in the UFC.
"I've been saying this whole week, you can't expect different results if you keep doing the same things," said Gadelha, who has lost twice to current champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk. "I went out there by myself and done different things. I am a new fighter. I am a new Claudia, and it's going to be f------ hard to beat me."
Kowalkiewicz, who also has a loss to Jedrzejczyk from a November title fight, came out firing on the feet but failed to defend Gadelha's first takedown attempt.
Gadelha is a former member of the Rio de Janeiro-based Nova Uniao camp. but trained for this fight at Lutrell-Yee MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She's also opened her own academy in New Jersey.
The 28-year-old has collected four wins in the UFC, but this is her first finish. She is 4-2 overall in the Octagon, with both losses coming to Jedrzejczyk.
Belfort takes narrow decision win over Marquardt
Vitor Belfort (26-13) earned his first decision win since 2007, edging Nate Marquardt (35-18-2) via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Despite referencing a final appearance in the UFC earlier this year, Belfort, 40, said he has "five more fights" left in him, immediately following the win. It was his first win since November 2015.
"I've got five more fights to go," Belfort said. "I'm going to reinvent myself."
The UFC veteran trained for this fight at Tristar MMA in Montreal, and said preparing for a fight away from his residence in south Florida reinvigorated his career.
He did show brief flashes of the old Belfort, particularly in the second round when he hurt Marquardt, of Colorado, with a left body kick and uncorked a flurry of punches near the fence.
Marquardt, 38, had his share of moments as well. He took Belfort down early in the first round, although referee Osiris Maia stood him up almost immediately. He cut Belfort over his left eye with a hook in the second round.
ESPN.com scored the fight 29-28 for Marquardt, but it officially goes down as his second loss in a row. He is now 1-3 in his last four.
Assuncao spoils Moares's UFC debut
Former WSOF bantamweight champion Marlon Moraes definitely looks comfortable against top-10 talent. But he came up short in his UFC debut.
UFC veteran Raphael Assuncao (25-5) edged Moraes (18-5-1) via split decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29), handing the 29-year-old his first loss since 2011.
All three rounds of the 135-pound fight were close. It was contested exclusively on the feet, as neither bantamweight seemed interested in taking it to the floor. According to Fightmetric, Moraes outlanded Assuncao in total strikes 41 to 37.
The two traded leg kicks early and continued to do so throughout. Moraes enjoyed a visible speed advantage but struggled to string together consistent offense. Assuncao, who is now 9-1 in his past 10, hurt Moraes with a right hand late in the first round.
Neither one ever seemed in full control of the bout. Moraes' speed appeared to bother Assuncao from start to finish, but he managed to open a cut on the bridge of Moraes' nose in the second round.
Fighting out of Ricardo Almeida Jiu-Jitsu alongside Frankie Edgar, Edson Barboza and Eddie Alvarez, Moraes sees a 13-fight win streak snapped. Assuncao picks up his second consecutive split decision.
Brazilian 185-pounder Borrachinha moves to 2-0 in UFC
Brazilian middleweight Paulo Borrachinha (10-0) kept his perfect record intact with a TKO finish over Oluwale Bamgbose (6-3) at 1:06 of the second round.
The fight was back-and-forth throughout, with both middleweights sacrificing defense for offense. Bamgbose shot hard for takedowns early and landed hard punches to the body after Borrachinha defended the initial shot.
Borrachinha responded with a huge body kick of his own, which Bamgbose, of New York, tried to shake off. As Bamgbose smiled in an attempt to hide the kick's effects, Borrachinha closed on him with leg kicks, a straight right and elbows from the clinch.
In the second round, Bamgbose slipped on a kick attempt, which Borrachinha capitalized on. He followed Bamgbose to the floor and unloaded punches out of his guard, until referee John McCarthy stepped in. The win improves Borrachinha's UFC record to 2-0.
"I think I'm ready for the top 10," Borrachinha said through a translator.
Medeiros stuns Silva in enemy territory
Hawaiian welterweight Yancy Medeiros (14-4) picked up a TKO victory in enemy territory, knocking out the always dangerous Erick Silva (19-8).
The finish came at the 2:01 mark of the second round, when Silva went down from a flush left hook by Medeiros. Silva appeared to sit up and reach for Medeiros, but referee Eduardo Herdy elected to intervene.
It was a relatively close fight to that point. Silva, of Brazil, landed several hard leg kicks early on and knocked Medeiros down with a knee late in the first round.
Medeiros, of Makaha, Hawaii, ate Silva's best shots, smiled and waived him forward. He wobbled Silva with a right hand to the temple in the opening minutes of the fight, and then cashed in on the perfectly timed left hook.
It is the seventh knockout win of Medeiros's career. For Silva, 32, it is his fourth loss by knockout. He's been finished twice in his past three fights.