WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT

Sofia Montenegro endured a UFC debut to forget as she was brutally beaten with her face left in a bloody mess.

Montenegro was making her Octagon bow against fellow newcomer Delphine Benouaich in the opening bout of the UFC Paris prelims at the Accor Arena on Saturday night.

Despite appearing to have the height advantage over her strawweight opponent, Montenegro was unable to stop being hit from Benouaich's sharp elbows.

Benouaich, who was the home favourite, continually marked up her opponent's face in the opening two rounds.

And with 38 seconds remaining of round two the referee declared the fight over after Benouaich successfully won by submission in the form of a rear-naked choke.

The commentary acknowledged that Montenegro had been 'put to sleep'.

As the crowd went wild, Montenegro was laid stricken on the canvas with her face covered in blood.

The 27-year-old was eventually taken to a local hospital to be checked over. It is unclear at the time of writing how she is, although she did take to social media to thank everyone post-fight.

Writing on Instagram, the Argentine said: 'Thank you, UFC Paris; thank you, France!

'I won't make excuses; I’ll keep working hard on my mistakes and come back.

'I held my flag high and returned wrapped in it - sorry, I just don't know how to give up!'

The defeat was the second-straight MMA loss of her career, with her career having started promisingly before that with a 6-1 record.