UFC Fight Night 228 video: Bryan Battle survives first-round scare, taps A.J. Fletcher in second

If you didn’t know what Bryan Battle was saying before Saturday, you probably do now: His prospect label in the UFC’s welterweight division likely is gone.

Battle (10-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) had to face a little adversity from A.J. Fletcher (10-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC), who dropped him in the first round. But Battle said afterward his fight or flight instincts kicked in. He survived, then smoothly transitioned to Fletcher’s back in a scramble and quickly had a tight rear-naked choke.

Battle’s finish, which was his ninth stoppage in 10 wins, came at the 4:32 mark of the second round on the main card at UFC Fight Night 228 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

After he controlled much of the first round on the feet, Battle ran into a little trouble when Fletcher got a few solid jabs off, then hit Battle with an elbow that buckled his knees and put him on the canvas with 30 seconds left in the round.

But Battle popped back up quickly, got to the end of the frame, and set about recovering for Round 2. In the second, Battle controlled Fletcher on the fence for much of the first half of the round, and when the fight hit the canvas, he traded back and forth from ground-and-pound to brief submission attempts before he finally took advantage of Fletcher’s attempt to scramble out for the fight-ending choke.

Another stoppage victory for Bryan Battle #UFCVegas79 pic.twitter.com/DLfEoxQXeO

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 23, 2023

Battle, who won Season 29 of “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2021, got his second straight finish on the heels of a 14-second knockout of Gabe Green in May.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 228 results include:

• Bryan Battle def. A.J. Fletcher via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:32
• Charles Jourdain vs. Ricardo Ramos via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 3:12
• Miles Johns def. Dan Argueta via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Miles Johns def. Dan Argueta via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Tim Means def. Andre Fialho via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 1:15
• Cody Brundage def. Jacob Malkoun via disqualification (illegal strike) – Round 1, 4:15
• Mohammed Usman def. Jake Collier via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Mizuki Inoue def. Hannah Goldy via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Montserrat Rendon def. Tamires Vidal via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)