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After nearly a year of waiting for it to go down, UFC 181 allowed Anthony Pettis and Gilbert Melendez to settle their score in the Octagon. The two spent time coaching The Ultimate Fighter 20 and promoting their bout for most of 2014, but they finally met on Dec. 6, 2014, in Las Vegas.

Melendez recognized that this was very likely his final title opportunity. Bringing his usual intensity into the cage with him, the challenger went after the champion.

Pettis, meanwhile, was looking to prove that he's still the greatest Lightweight on the planet after a lengthy layoff. Plus, "Showtime" was looking to add another impressive name to his highlight reel.

He did just that.

Melendez made it clear immediately that he was not screwing around. Quickly pressuring Pettis to the cage with his punches, he immediately shot in for a double-leg takedown. He did not finish his first shot or even his second, but Melendez controlled Pettis from the standing back mount for about two minutes.

When Pettis created space, Melendez went right back to work. He landed a nice combination -- including some body blows -- before momentarily finishing a double leg takedown. During every grappling exchange, Melendez constantly attacked with punches. Each time the fighters broke apart, Pettis would throw a kick, which Melendez followed by a series of punches.

Melendez clearly took the first round, having controlled for most of the round and landed many shots.

"El Nino" continued to pursue Pettis with looping punches. In this round, Pettis angled off better, which allowed him to land some serious counter punches as Melendez pursued. One of those strikes dropped Melendez briefly, who used that to shoot a double leg.

As he did so, Pettis locked in a nasty guillotine choke and sat guard. Melendez was trapped in a horrible position and attempted to roll, but he couldn't loosen the hold. With no other options, Melendez was forced to submit.

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