UFC 234 Results: Massive surprise in the main event, Middleweight title fight canceled

#4 Lando Vannata vs. Marcos Rosa Mariano (Lightweight)

Vannata grappled his way to a win with ease.

This fight was supposed to be a part of Fight Pass but had to be pushed to the co-main event slot after the unfortunate setback to Robert Whittaker. Vannata (9-3-2) came into the fight without a win in his last four fights and would have been looking to use his unpredictability and creative striking techniques to revitalize his UFC career.

As for Mariano (6-4), this was set to be his UFC debut at the age of 32.

Round 1: Mariano's 5-inch reach advantage was evident from the get-go as he stretched his legs out to land a few kicks, to begin with. A powerful leg switch kick from Mariano was followed by a head kick that got blocked. Vannata got the body lock and took Mariano down to the mat.

Vannata in side control as Mariano tried to control the posture. Mariano looked for the head and arm triangle as he controlled the posture well. Vannata landed with a couple of elbows and rights from the top. Mariano seemed confused on the back as he let Vannata land shots without much resistance from the top. Mariano failed to create the separation using his size as he just wanted to get to the end of the round.

Vannata pushed right through Mariano's feet and rained down with some big shots. Mariano couldn't use the space as Vannata got hold of his arm. He cranked down on Mariano's arm with a Kimura and forced the tap in the dying stages of the first round.

Result: Lando Vannata def. Marcos Rosa Mariano via Submission (Kimura) (4:55, Round 1)

GROOVY!@GroovyLando gets the sub in round one! #UFC234 pic.twitter.com/3magLP0IpK

— UFC (@ufc) February 10, 2019

Mariano had no answer to the ground game of Vannata, who showed off a different side to his skill set as he got the win without taking much damage. Vannata called out Jim Miller in his post-fight interview and even pandered to the fans with an 'Aussie, Aussie, Aussie' chant.