Watch: Gustavo Lopez kicks off UFC Vegas 13 with a rear-naked choke win over Anthony Birchak

Gustavo Lopez picked up a solid victory over Anthony Birchak in their bantamweight bout that transpired at UFC Vegas 13.

Lopez dominated Birchak throughout the fight in both the striking and grappling departments, capping off his impressive showing with a vicious rear-naked choke finish in the very first round of their bout.

Anthony Birchak boasted a two-fight winning streak as he entered his fight against Gustavo Lopez, with both fighters looking to make a statement as the fight got off to a fast-paced start.

Although Birchak found early success against Lopez, it was Lopez who appeared to be landing the crisper, cleaner strikes.

Lopez subsequently found a home for his overhand, and struck Birchak consistently, with a few hard shots to the head resulting in Birchak having to retreat to the Octagon fence.

Duelo latino hoy en #UFCVegas13 @Gustavo11Lopez y @abirchakMMAESTELARES 7pm EP 🇺🇸 / 9pm 🇲🇽 / 12am 🇦🇷 / 4am 🇪🇸PRELIMS4pm PT 🇺🇸 / 6pm 🇲🇽 / 9pm 🇦🇷 / 1am 🇪🇸CÓMO VER: https://t.co/IKoBjM5D0B pic.twitter.com/ixxBbg0Ln6

— ufcespanol (@UFCEspanol) November 7, 2020

Gustavo Lopez ended the fight with a picture-perfect submission

As noted, Gustavo Lopez successfully out-struck Anthony Birchak during their fight that didn’t even last an entire round.

Lopez dropped Birchak with a beautiful right hand and swarmed him with additional strikes, but failed to get the immediate finish.

Although Birchak seemed to survive the onslaught, Lopez managed to take him down and then continued attacking him with ground strikes.

Birchak subsequently gave up his back which, in turn, enabled Lopez to sink in an extremely tight rear-naked choke that visibly led to him struggling to breathe.

Birchak tapped out and the referee immediately waved off the bout, thereby awarding Gustavo Lopez the victory by way of submission (rear-naked choke) at the 2:43 minute mark of round one.

Protect ya' neck! 😤@Gustavo11Lopez wasting no time getting the show off to a flyer! #UFCVegas13📺 Watch LIVE on @UFCFightPass NOW! pic.twitter.com/NUVogjcTLU

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) November 8, 2020

Bantamweight MMA competitor Gustavo Lopez bounced back from a unanimous decision loss he’d suffered to Merab Dvalishvili earlier this year.

With this win over Anthony Birchak, Gustavo Lopez has likely earned a fight with a higher-ranked opponent in the UFC bantamweight division, as Lopez aims to someday win the coveted UFC bantamweight championship.

The bantamweight division is presently ruled by one of the most feared fighters in mixed martial arts today, Petr Yan.

Yan is set to defend his UFC bantamweight title against Aljamain Sterling next in a matchup that’s regarded by the vast majority of MMA fans and experts as a highly intriguing clash of styles.

Yan is an extremely aggressive KO artist, whereas Sterling is an outstanding grappling specialist.

Which fighter would you like to see Gustavo Lopez face next? Sound off in the comments.