Lincolnville native Tim Boetch had his two-fight winning streak in the Ultimate Fighting Championship halted in decisive fashion Saturday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Third-ranked middleweight Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, in what he considered a tune-up for a potential title fight against champion Michael Bisping, used a takedown midway through the first period of his scheduled five-round bout against Boetsch to score a first-round submission victory via kimura.
The fight, which was stopped by referee Dan Miragliotta at 3:41 of the five-minute opening round, was the last bout under Boetsch’s current contract with the UFC, and whether he re-signs with that organization or seeks to sign with another promotion such as Bellator MMA or the World Series of Fighting remains to be seen.
The 36-year-old Boetsch, ranked 13th among UFC middleweights entering the fight, is now 20-11 overall, 11-10 for the UFC.
Souza, 37, is now 24-4 overall, 7-1 with the UFC.
Souza took control of the center of the cage at the outset of the fight and landed a front kick to the body and a right-hand strike before Boetsch was able to deny his opponent a takedown bid.
The two then clinched before Souza landed a strike and Boetsch countered with a kick.
Souza then landed a left hand before a countering strike by Boetsch marked his best punch of the fight.
Souza then went for the takedown again and this time the Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist took Boetsch to the ground, from where he gained side control and then moved into mount before applying the kimura that forced Boetsch to tap out.
