After taking a 20-month layoff in the aftermath of his octagon debut, Clayton Carpenter returned to action Saturday at UFC Fight Night 244 and put on a violent performance against Lucas Rocha.
It was largely one-way traffic for Carpenter (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) in the flyweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. He got top position on Rocha (17-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in the opening round and landed a big elbow to open up a nasty cut. Then, in the next frame, he took the back of his opponent and locked in a deep rear-naked choke for the technical submission finish at the 2:12 mark of Round 2.
Check out the replay of the overwhelming finish from Carpenter below (via X):
Another RNC submission for Clayton Carpenter
He gets the second round sub at #UFCVegas98 pic.twitter.com/uMPk0CC3Dm
— UFC (@ufc) October 12, 2024
With the win, Carpenter keeps his undefeated record in tact, while Rocha fell short in his promotional debut.
“My performance was pretty on point,” Carpenter said in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “It took me a second to get calibrated, but I did my thing.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 244.
