UFC 153 results: Sergio Moraes chokes out Renee Fortee late

Sergio Moraes looked to get Renee Forte to the ground a bunch of times in their UFC 153 welterweight fight, but wasn't able to keep him there. Finally he just jumped on his back and sunk in a choke in the third round, and managed to get the submission victory. The bout had been fairly dull until that point, but Moraes' grappling looked excellent at the end. The finish came at 3:10 of the third round.

The fighters basically just started at each other for the first 45 seconds before getting down to business. Moraes timed a takedown attempt nicely and got it to the floor. Forte popped up but Moraes persisted against the cage. Forte was able to fight it off though. Moraes tried again, but Forte popped back up again. Finally he switched it up and got a very nice takedown. Moraes jumped on Forte's back, but he was too high and Forte backed out. Back on the feet, Forte landed a nice switch kick. Not much happened over the final minute.

Both men got started a little quicker in round two, with Forte landing the first significant strike. Moraes got a takedown against the cage. Forte got up, but ate a knee to the body. Moraes failed on another attempt, and Forte turned up his striking a bit. After an extended period of clinching against the cage, the ref separated them. Forte landed a nice uppercut that staggered Moraes and he went to the ground, but Forte wouldn't engage him there at the end of the round.

The fighters started slow in the third, and didn't land much of anything over the first 90 seconds. Finally Forte landed a kick and Moraes landed a counter. Moraes looked for a trip takedown and jumped on Forte's back. Moraes landed a body triangle and rode Forte's back, while Forte defended a choke attempt. Forte leaned forward to shake him off but no dice. They went to the ground, and Moraes finally locked up the choke and got the tap.