Canada's Robertson rallies for second-round UFC submission

LAS VEGAS — Canadian flyweight Gillian (The Savage) Robertson survived a first-round onslaught to submit Kazakhstan's Mariya (Demonslayer) Agapova on a UFC Fight Night card Saturday.

The 27-year-old native of Niagara Falls, Ont., who makes her home in Port Saint Lucie, Fla., absorbed a string of elbows to the head as she tried to take Agapova down at the fence in the opening round. But she rallied in the second round to lock in a rear-raked choke that prompted referee Mark Smith to halt the bout at two minutes 19 seconds of the round.

All three judges scored the first round for Agapova, who had a 39-4 edge in significant strikes in the round according to UFC Stats.

But Robertson tripped Agapova to the ground 45 seconds into the second round and eventually took her back and applied the choke. Agapova, who had lost her mouth guard, appeared to be losing consciousness when the referee stepped in.

"I knew she was going to come in there trying to kill me. But I knew that it'd be mine in the end," said Robertson.

Two other Canadians lost on the card.

American middleweight Anthony (Fluffy) Hernandez used his grappling skills to choke out Marc-Andre (Power Bar) Barriault of Gatineau, Que., in the third round on the undercard.

Brazil's Rodrigo Nascimento (9-1-0 with one no-contest) won a split decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29) over Alberta heavyweight Tanner (The Bulldozer) Boser (20-9-1).

One judge gave the first two rounds to Boser, a native of Bonnyville, Alta., who fights out of Edmonton, while another awarded him the second. The third scored all three rounds for the Brazilian.

The main event at UFC Apex production facility saw American Cory (Sandman) Sandhagen, ranked fourth among UFC bantamweight contenders, beat No. 10