Isaac Dulgarian had an extra layer of pressure entering his UFC Fight Night 242 matchup with Brendon Marotte, because he built up to being the biggest betting favorite in UFC history.
When cage announcer Joe Martinez read Dulgarian’s (7-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) name for his introduction, the pre-fight graphic listed him as a record-setting -2400 betting favorite over Marotte (8-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC) for the featherweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Dulgarian came out instantly and scored an easy takedown in the first 10 seconds, then delivered a mauling on the mat. Marotte displayed his toughness in eating numerous heavy shots, as well as surviving repeat bad positions and submission attempts.
The fight entered a second round to the surprise of many, but it didn’t make it out of it. Dulgarian got the fight back to the ground in short order and punished Marotte until he secured an arm-triangle choke for the tap at the 4:19 mark of Round 2.
Check out the replay of the finish below (via X):
The Midwest Choppa is BACK in the win column
Isaac Dulgarian secures an arm triangle in the second round! #UFCVegas97 pic.twitter.com/Jr8r9HWlj1
— UFC (@ufc) September 7, 2024
Isaac Dulgarian with the little dance after securing the submission #UFCVegas97 pic.twitter.com/PRsi4VfhLu
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 7, 2024
It was a strong rebound performance from Dulgarian after suffering his first career defeat in his previous bout, and he preached a more methodical win to getting the job done.
“We were focused on being patient this fight,” Dulgarian said in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “Last fight I was pushing a little too hard. We were just patient.”
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 242 results include:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 242.
