LAS VEGAS -- Give Anthony Pettis an inch and he takes a mile.
Pettis (18-2) recorded the first defense of his lightweight title at UFC 181 on Saturday, submitting Gilbert Melendez at 1:53 of the second round via guillotine choke. The 155-pound title bout co-headlined UFC 181 inside Mandalay Bay Events Center.
A former Strikeforce lightweight title-holder, Melendez (22-4) went after Pettis relentlessly from the opening bell but failed to secure the positions he wanted. His game plan was obvious early on, as he repeatedly closed distance with punches, shot for takedowns and smothered Pettis along the fence.
Pettis, 27, calmly defended Melendez's attempts to take him down, however, and consistently landed shots in short windows with his back to the fence. Melendez managed to take him down once in the fight, but Pettis quickly jumped back to his feet.
Pettis, a longtime member of Roufusport Gym in Milwaukee, won the 155-pound title via submission against Ben Henderson in August 2013. A knee injury suffered during the victory kept him sidelined until UFC 181. He is also a former WEC champion and hasn't lost since June 2011.
"I feel amazing. It was a long 15 months off; I'm back!" Pettis said. "I know how good I am, but a lot of people were questioning how good I am. This fight went a little bit longer, it went two rounds so you got to see a little more of [me]."
The fight was slow at times due to Melendez keeping Pettis along the fence, but it made for tense moments any time the two exchanged punches. Pettis simply was the more accurate and quicker of the two and forced Melendez to back off a handful of times with clean shots.
The finish came as Melendez shot in and then reached for Pettis' legs after initially being stuffed. Pettis circled to his left, created space, secured the guillotine and pulled guard to get the finish. It is his second consecutive submission win and the first time Melendez has tapped in his 12-year professional career.
In the first round, Petits cracked Melendez with a left hook to the chin that sent him retreating to the center of the cage. Pettis attempted to follow with a flying knee attempt, just missing a chance to catch Melendez clean.
Momentum continued to swing in Pettis' favor in the second round, as Melendez's bullying grew more labored. A large welt formed under Melendez's right eye, and his ripping right hands to the body failed to get past Pettis' defense. A front kick by Pettis caught Melendez flush in the face.
Immediate cageside stats by Fightmetric showed Melendez outlanding Petits in total strikes 59 to 43, though Pettis threw at a far more accurate clip.
Melendez came up short in his second UFC title bid in three fights. He fought Henderson for the belt in his promotional debut in April 2013 and lost via split decision. He rebounded six months later with a unanimous decision win against Diego Sanchez in a Fight of the Year candidate at UFC 166.
"I wanted to test his chin and I really didn't get a chance," Melendez said. "I couldn't get my combos going. Hats off to Pettis tonight. He's extremely fast and a very tough opponent."
Browne blasts through Schaub
Travis Browne blew through Brendan Schaub in a first-round TKO finish at the 4:50 mark.
Browne (17-2-1) hurt Schaub with a right uppercut before working for the finish on the ground. He moved to full mount several times in the heavyweight fight and eventually flattened Schaub out from his back and ended it with punches to the head.
Schaub (10-5) yelled to referee Mario Yamasaki from the bottom that he was all right moments before the finish, but he was doing nothing to improve his position and had even stopped covering up from some of the shots. He shook his head after the bout but did not make a loud, visible protest.
It was Browne's first appearance since a one-sided loss to Fabricio Werdum in April. The 32-year-old relocated camps between fights, moving from Jackson-Winkeljohn in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Glendale Fight Club in Southern California.
So far, so good for Browne, as he controlled the fight well against Schaub and racked up his 15th career stoppage. Schaub had some positives moments early, scoring a takedown midway through the opening round and landing an uppercut of his own at the tail end of a flurry.
Browne never appeared bothered by Schaub's punches, however. Immediate cageside stats by Fightmetric had Browne outlanding Schaub in total strikes 29 to 11. Browne improves to 7-2-1 in the UFC while Schaub falls to 6-5. It's the fourth knockout loss of Schaub's career.
Ferguson overcomes slow start
Tony Ferguson survived an early knockdown and submitted Abel Trujillo at 4:19 of the second round.
Ferguson (17-3) weathered early shots from the hard-hitting lightweight and took full advantage of Trujillo's fading gas tank later in the fight. The finish came via rear-naked choke.
Trujillo (12-6) basically went to the ground on his own late in the second round, offering his head in a front head lock and turtling up near the fence. The 31-year-old striker came out guns blazing early in the bout and had almost nothing left by the time Ferguson slapped on the choke.
A right hand by Trujillo dropped Ferguson in the opening minute, but Ferguson rose quickly to his feet and moved remarkably well despite the impact of the punch. Trujillo went for the finish, but Ferguson was elusive, circling around the fence and ducking away from Trujillo's wound up shots.
Trujillo showcased a bit of his versatility after the near-finish, landing several left hooks and taking Ferguson to the ground in a somewhat surprising move. Ferguson looked very comfortable off his back, however, and managed to get up and establish his jab as the round came to a close.
In the second, it became clear Trujillo was fighting on fumes. He ate a few early leg kicks and started to lose positions in scrambles.
Winner of "The Ultimate Fighter 13" reality series, Ferguson notches his fourth consecutive win. He is now 7-1 as a UFC lightweight. Trujillo drops to 3-2 in the Octagon.
Faber submits Rivera
Three-time title challenger Urijah Faber earned his ninth win in the UFC, submitting Francisco Rivera at 1:34 of the second round.
Faber (32-7) looked outstanding in the fight, although the finish came under some unfortunate circumstances as referee Yamasaki missed an eye poke that caused Rivera (10-4) to clutch his face. Dropping down to one knee near the fence, Rivera partially gave up his back to Faber, who quickly sunk in the choke.
It is the 19th submission victory of Faber's career and sixth inside the Octagon.
"I didn't know I poked him, but looking at the replay, it's unfortunate for Francisco," Faber said. "He had a great attitude afterward, my hat is off to him. No one ever wants to make an excuse, but if you have to make one, an eye poke is the best one you can have.
"The [bantamweight] division is wide-open in my opinion, and I'm ready for whoever the UFC puts in front of me next."
Rivera (10-4) fought relatively conservatively in the 135-pound contest. He kept distance between himself and Faber in the opening round, looking to land counter punches as Faber closed the distance.
Faber navigated through the gap well, however. He scored several times with the overhand right and touched Rivera with a left hook after catching a leg kick. Rivera managed to land a couple right hands near the end of the round, but Faber was moving with the shots and didn't seem terribly affected.
The second round looked similar to the first at the start. In one exchange, Faber shot on a single leg attempt, bailed on it and landed a couple punches to the head. One of them, however, clipped the right eye of Rivera. Faber threw a knee and then jumped behind Rivera as he went to his knee.
Faber improves to 2-0 in his past two fights. He'll presumably finish 2014 with a 2-1 record. He suffered a first-round TKO loss to Renan Barao in a bantamweight title fight at UFC 169.