Perennial UFC middleweight contender Mark Munoz started off his UFC Fight Night 41 headlining fight with Gegard Mousasi by executing a picture-perfect power double, but it was all downhill from there.

“The Dreamcatcher” had no problem getting back to his feet and easily outstruck “The Filipino Wrecking Machine,” who repeatedly had takedown attempts shrugged off as he absorbed big elbows and punches to the head.

Eventually, the ill-advised attempts to bring the fight to the mat cost Munoz big time, as Mousasi mounted him and quickly transitioned to his back.

Before Munoz even know what hit him, Mousasi had locked in the fight ending rear-naked choke.

Munoz, who entered the bout as the No. 7 middleweight in the world according to the UFC’s official rankings, has now lost three of his past four bouts and was finished in each of those losses.

After going 5-1 as a light heavyweight, Munoz posted a 7-1 mark at 185 pounds before struggling against the upper-tier of the division.

Mousasi, who was shockingly only ranked No. 11 in the official UFC rankings heading into the matchup, is 7-1-1 in his past nine fights and his only defeat was a hard-fought decision against top contender Lyoto Machida.

“The Armenian Assassin,” a former Strikeforce and DREAM champion, said he would like to fight either Tim Kennedy or Luke Rockhold next.

Neither top ranked middleweight has an assignment for their next cage appearance.