Brendson Ribeiro Submits Felipe Franco in the First Round at UFC Vegas
Brendson Ribeiro submitted Felipe Franco with a guillotine choke at 1:49 of the first round in the light heavyweight bout at UFC Fight Night: Allen vs. Duncan. The finish came at Meta APEX in Las Vegas on Saturday and ended a four-fight losing streak for Ribeiro.
Ribeiro landed 6 of 11 total strikes at 54.5 percent and 6 of 11 significant strikes at 54.5 percent. Franco connected on 1 of 5 total strikes at 20 percent and 1 of 5 significant strikes at 20 percent. Neither fighter scored a knockdown. Franco was the only fighter who attempted a takedown, finishing 1 of 2 at 50 percent. Ribeiro recorded the fight’s only submission attempt.
The bout stayed brief on the feet. After the opening exchanges, Franco shot for a takedown and left his neck exposed. Ribeiro locked the guillotine, held it through Franco’s attempt to slam free, and transitioned to mount. Franco tapped under the choke. Referee Marc Goddard stopped the fight. The official result was a submission by guillotine at 1:49 of round one.
Ribeiro moves to 18-11 with one no-contest. Franco falls to 11-3. The Brazilian entered on short notice after missing weight at 208.5 pounds and forfeiting 20 percent of his purse. He had lost his previous four fights, including a unanimous decision to Magomed Tuchalov in July and a first-round submission to Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev in April.
Franco had stopped Levi Rodrigues by punches in the second round of his previous outing in July. That win had followed a unanimous decision loss to Mario Pinto in March. The 25-year-old was the favorite on most lines entering the night. Ribeiro, 30, had not won since a decision over Diyar Nurgozhay earlier in 2025.
Ribeiro spoke afterward through an interpreter in the post-fight interview. “Thank you to UFC,” he said. “I want to apologize for not making the weight. I took it on two weeks’ notice, so it was an important thing coming out with a win.”
The guillotine is a technique Ribeiro has used earlier in his career. He has finished multiple opponents with the choke dating back to regional cards. Franco’s level change provided the opening, and the short-notice opponent who had missed weight closed it before the round reached two minutes. The four-fight slide ends with a first-round stoppage on a card that produced several early finishes.
Ribeiro leaves Las Vegas with a win that moves him to 3-6 inside the UFC and removes the immediate pressure of a longer losing streak. Franco leaves with the second loss of his UFC tenure and the first by submission. Both fighters remain unranked at light heavyweight, and neither has a return date announced. The division continues without an immediate booking set for either man.
