MELBOURNE, Australia – In what was basically a perfect performance, Ben Nguyen didn’t need much time to take out Ryan Benoit.

Nguyen (14-5 MMA, 2-0 UFC) got Benoit (8-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) to the canvas quickly in the fight, then went to work on him to get a rear-naked choke finish at the 2:35 mark of the first round.

The flyweight bout opened up the preliminary card of today’s UFC 193 event at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. It streamed on UFC Fight Pass ahead of additional prelims on FOX Sports 1 and a main card on pay-per-view.

Nguyen kicked early while ducking under a right hand from Benoit. Then he got aggressive with a knee and put Benoit on the canvas and went to work with ground-and-pound. It took Nguyen no time to jump to mount just 35 seconds into the bout.

Benoit gave his back looking for a way out, but Nguyen flattened him out and looked for a rear-naked choke. Benoit tried to fight the choke and did initially, but Nguyen stuck to him and dropped punches down. Benoit held on to Nguyen’s left arm to play defense.

But it was just a matter of time. Nguyen finally got the arm under Benoit’s chin and it didn’t take long for Benoit to tap. The stoppage was the fourth fastest in UFC flyweight history.

“I just feel unbelievable,” Nguyen said. “Being in front of the crowd in Melbourne, my new home country (of Australia), I couldn’t feel any better than this. I was just persistent in the submission (attempt). A lot of people see me as a striker, but I’m equally good as a grappler.”

“I feel on top of the world, being able to prove myself in striking and now grappling,” Nguyen said. “I’ve got my first submission in the UFC, so I’m really happy. I’m still pretty new to the scene, so I’m up for anything next.”

Benoit said issues following Friday’s weight cut gave him problems on Saturday.

“Yesterday, I had to go to the hospital because I had problems rehydrating,” Benoit said. “I think I was thrown off because of the amount of time I had to spend at the hospital. The weight cut didn’t go as smooth as we had planned, and I got really sick right after weigh-ins. That’s all I can give you right now. I’m pretty emotional.”

Nguyen won for the eighth straight time and got his 12th stoppage in 14 career victories. After an upset of Sergio Pettis in March, Benoit heads back to the loss column and has dropped two of three in the UFC.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 193 results include:

Ben Nguyen def. Ryan Benoit via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:35

For complete coverage of UFC 193, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan and Steven Marrocco contributed to this report on site in Melbourne.)