Oleinik submits Browne; Laprise, 'Marreta' score KOs at UFC 213

Heavyweight Bout: Aleksei Oleinik def. Travis Browne via 2nd-round submission (rear-naked choke)

At 40, Oleinik is better than ever.

"The Boa Constrictor" picked up the 43rd submission win of his career with a second-round rear-naked choke of Travis Browne in the featured preliminary bout of UFC 213 on Saturday in Las Vegas.

Oleinik has now won two straight and four of five in the UFC, with all of his Octagon victories coming by way of knockout or submission. His last 14 wins have all been stoppages.

The 20-year veteran improved his overall record to 52-10-1.

Round 1 started off slow before rapidly devolving into chaos. Browne rocked Oleinik with a left hook and it looked like "Hapa" was on his way to halting a three-fight losing streak:

Moments later, the tides turned when Oleinik dropped Browne with a looping right hook. Browne recovered, only to be taken down to the canvas where Oleinik could work his grappling.

Oleinik punched Browne from back position before transitioning to a choke attempt that Browne fended off to make it to Round 2. Unfortunately for Browne, he ended up sealing his own fate.

A big slam by Browne brought the action back to the mat where he briefly gained side control before Oleinik turned the tables to regain his perch on Browne's back. From there, he maneuvered into another rear-naked choke that Browne would not escape.

Browne has now fallen short four consecutive times and his future with the UFC is in doubt.

Welterweight Bout: Chad Laprise def. Brian Camozzi via 3rd-round TKO

Laprise looked like a new man in his return to 170 pounds.

After a razor-close two-round striking battle, "The Disciple" wilted Camozzi with a right hand to the body before swarming him for the finish 1:27 into Round 3.

Laprise picked up his second straight finish in his first fight at welterweight since his UFC debut, one that saw him best Olivier Aubin-Mercier to win "The Ultimate Fighter Nations" back in April 2014.

Facing a lankier foe in Camozzi, Laprise made up for his diminutive frame with fluid movement to pick "Mantis" apart while his foe incessantly stalked him and let leather fly through the opening round.

The Canadian's output waned significantly in the second stanza, allowing Camozzi to find his range and tie it up at a round apiece heading into Round 3.

Laprise's renewed sense of urgency led to the finish, as he resumed punishing Camozzi's body to send him retreating against the cage and leave him ripe for the finish.

The win gave the former lightweight the gumption to challenge highly touted prospect Mickey Gall to a dance on the promotion's September show in Laprise's home country - UFC 215.

Camozzi has now succumbed to strikes in each of his two walks to the Octagon, bringing his professional record to 7-4.

Middleweight Bout: Thiago Santos def. Gerald Meerschaert via 2nd-round TKO

Meerschaert learned the hard way the meaning of the word "Marreta."

The always dangerous Santos (whose nickname translates to "Sledgehammer" in English) became the first fighter to finish Meerschaert with strikes in 35 fights, putting him away at the 2:04 mark of Round 2:

Santos has now won six of his seven UFC fights by knockout. Following his impressive victory, the 33-year-old Brazilian called for a rematch with Gegard Mousasi. The two fought last July at UFC 200 in a bout Santos accepted on short notice. Mousasi won by first-round KO.

On Saturday, Meerschaert's grappling expertise was soundly foiled by Santos, who was able to stuff his takedown attempts and punish him with ground-and-pound.

The situation only became more dire for Meerschaert in Round 2 and referee Marc Goddard stepped in to wave off the bout after Santos landed a series of unanswered hammer fists.

In addition to being finished with strikes for the first time in his career, Meerschaert also suffers his first Octagon defeat after winning his previous two outings by submission.

Welterweight Bout: Belal Muhammad def. Jordan Mein via unanimous decision

"Remember the Name" didn't quite give fight fans a reason to do so, but he'll take the W just the same.

Facing a polished striker in Mein, Muhammad had to resort to the clinch and some short, dirty striking through three rounds to earn the nod on all three scorecards for his second straight win.

"Young Gun," on the other hand, is now winless in two trips to the Octagon since he came out of a near two-year retirement in late 2016.

The tilt began as a tentative kickboxing match, with Mein's steady stream of leg kicks proving the most damaging blows for the bulk of the first. Wearing a sizable welt on his left leg within the frame's first few minutes, Muhammad was left with little choice but to make it ugly.

The 29-year-old proceeded to wear an increasingly helpless Mein against the cage and pepper him with short strikes until he finally managed to keep his foe pinned to the canvas in Round 3, and put a bow on the victory by taking Mein's back and angling for a rear-naked choke to close it all out.

A battle-worn Mein, still just 27, sees his UFC record fall to 3-4 with his third straight loss.