UFC Vegas 119 Prelims: Beatriz Mesquita dodges bullet, armbars Melissa Mullins

UFC Vegas 119 prelims delivered several notable finishes and upsets as the card built toward the main event.

Beatriz Mesquita remained undefeated, improving to 8-0 overall and 3-0 in the UFC, when she submitted Melissa Mullins via armbar at 3:16 of round one in a women's bantamweight preliminary. Mullins (7-3, 2-3 UFC) began sharply, dazing Mesquita with a left hook and following up with punches, but the American Top Team star's world-class jiu-jitsu proved decisive. After luring Mullins into her guard, Mesquita cleared her head and locked a tight armbar that forced the tap.

Kevin Borjas upset heavily favored and previously undefeated Andre Lima via unanimous decision in a flyweight bout, taking all three rounds despite missing weight by three pounds and forfeiting 20% of his purse. Judges scored it 30-27, 29-28, and 29-28 for Borjas (11-5, 2-4 UFC). Lima (11-1, 4-1 UFC) landed kicks but relied too often on single strikes, while Borjas cut loose in multi-punch combinations and staggered Lima with a right hook late in round one.

Mitch Raposo edged Allan Nascimento via split decision in a flyweight clash, with judges Eric Colon and Junichiro Kamijo scoring 29-28 for Raposo, while Sal D'Amato favored Nascimento. Raposo (11-3, 2-2 UFC) controlled with movement and sharp jabs, opening a cut under Nascimento's right eye. Nascimento (22-7, 4-2 UFC) decked Raposo with a clean combination in round three and landed ground-and-pound, but could not overcome the deficit.

Gaston Bolanos (9-5, 3-2 UFC) defeated ex-Fury Fighting Championship titleholder Michael Aswell via unanimous decision, all judges scoring 29-28. Bolanos' active kicking game and composure under pressure proved decisive despite Aswell's late rally.

Levan Chokheli made a statement featherweight debut, finishing Leon Shahbazyan with punches at 23 seconds of round one. Chokheli (15-3, 1-0 UFC) blasted Shahbazyan's lead leg with kicks, pinned him to the fence, then folded him with a left hook to the body.

In other results: Luana Santos defeated Karol Rosa via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) in a women's bantamweight bout; Shane Collins took a unanimous decision from Otari Tanzilovi (30-27, 30-27) in a featherweight matchup.