Dos Santos KOs Velasquez in 64 seconds at UFC on Fox
Cain Velasquez era as the UFC’s heavyweight kingpin with a brutal first-round knockout victory in the main event of UFC on Fox on Saturday night at Honda Center.
Casual sports fans tuning in to see the UFC’s debut on network television got a taste of how brutally fast a fight can come to an end in MMA when two heavyweights are throwing haymakers at each other with 4-ounce gloves.
Dos Santos landed a perfect overhand right to the side of Velasquez’s head, sending the UFC heavyweight champion face first into the canvas.
Velasquez was dazed and trying to get his wits about him, but dos Santos never gave him a chance. Dos Santos landed a dozen follow-up punches until referee “Big” John McCarthy ended it at 1:04 of the first round.
“He messed up my equilibrium,” said Velasquez, of San Jose, who tasted defeat for the first time in 10 pro fights. “It was a good shot. He has a lot of power. My hat’s off to him.”
The new champion was very emotional in his post-fight interview.
“I have no words to say how I’m feeling,” said dos Santos (14-1), of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. “I think Cain, for sure, is the toughest opponent I’ve ever faced. I was afraid to fight him because he is so tough. I wasn’t 100 percent.”
Velasquez apologized to his fans, friends and family for disappointing them.
“I will come back,” said Velasquez, who won the title with a TKO over Brock Lesnar at UFC 121 last year at Honda Center. “I will get respect back.”
Henderson wins wild slugfest
Former WEC lightweight champion Benson Henderson (15-2) of Glendale, Ariz., and Clay Guida (29-9) of Johnsburg, Ill., engaged in a wild free-swinging affair.
Guida took a lot of chances and left himself open. Henderson capitalized and won a 3-round unanimous decision, 29-28, 30-27, 30-27.
“I’m happy but I know that I can do a lot better than that,” Henderson said. “30-27 was great but I always work to finish and I made a few mistakes that didn’t allow me to do that. I was stepping into my jab a little too deep and I felt like my timing was a little off. Still, I’m glad I was able to hold it together for the win.”
Guida had his four-fight winning streak snapped.
“Ben set a fast pace from the get go,” Guida said. “That fight was a rollercoaster and Ben is a hell of a warrior. Fifteen minutes goes by so quickly in there and I still don’t know what exactly happened. Ben was better tonight and this is just a speed bump for me, not a roadblock.”
Henderson had a slight edge in the first two rounds, which featured some wild exchanges. Both fighters went for flying knees at the same time late in the final round. Guida ended up locking in a guillotine choke. Henderson refused to tap, managed to escape in the final seconds and finished the fight raining down punches on Guida.
With three consecutive UFC victories, Henderson looks like a top contender for UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar.
Frankie Edgar, let’s do it, baby,” Henderson said.
Poirier submits Garza
Lightweight Dustin Poirier (11-1) of Lafayette, La., overwhelmed Pablo Garza (12-2) of Fargo, N.D., before submitting him with a D’Arce chokeat 1:32 of the second round.
“I use that choke all the time in the gym and I’m happy I could showcase it tonight,” Poirier said. “I’ve got a great jiu jitsu game; eventually someone will put me on my back and I’ll get a chance to prove it. I didn’t cut any corners during my camp for this fight and I think it showed through tonight. Hopefully, I’ll get another tough opponent next time out.”
Lamas rallies to victory
Featherweight Ricardo Lamas (11-2) of Chicago, Ill., survived some wild exchanges and a guillotine choke attempt, rallying to submit Cub Swanson (15-5) of Palm Springs with an arm-triangle choke at 2:16 of the second round.
Johnson bounces back with TKO win
“The Ultimate Fighter 9″ finalist Damarques Johnson (18-9) of Salt Lake City, Utah, dropped Clay Harvison (9-5) of Atlanta, Ga., with a left uppercut and finished him with one final right hand at 1:34 of the first round.
“It feels great to get the win because I know that’s what I’m capable of,” Johnson said. “I just wanted to go out there and show a more polished version of myself and I think I did that tonight. I was prepared to let the fight go wherever he wanted to take it. I planned on giving him a false sense of security and self confidence so that I could capitalize on his mistakes if he overcommitted.”
Uyenoyama victorious in UFC debut
Bantamweight Darren Uyenoyama (7-3) of San Francisco appeared to have Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto (18-5) of Tokyo, Japan, tapping out to a rear-naked choke at the end of the first round, but he had to settle for a 3-round unanimous decision in his UFC debut. The scores were 30-27, 30-26 and 30-27.
“I was walking to the Octagon and I still couldn’t believe I was about to compete in the UFC,” Uyenoyama said. “I didn’t have an easy road to get here and I had the honor of fighting a legend and a personal hero of mine. I hope that the fight wasn’t boring because I tried to make it exciting for the fans. I had trouble with a cut during training and ‘Kid’ was able to open it up again in there. He hit me with some hard shots and I’m happy I was able to take them because I think that he is one of the hardest punchers in the division.”
Peralta gets TKO (head butt) victory
Featherweight Robert Peralta (16-3) of Escondido was awarded a TKO over Mackens Semerzier (8-4) of Virginia Beach, Va., at 1:54 of the third round. Replays showed a head butt was the initial shot that dropped Semerzier as Peralta missed with a right hand. It happened very fast and Peralta followed up with a barrage of punches to end the fight.
“When I caught him I was just trying to throw everything I had to finish him as quickly as possible,” Peralta said. “I have a baby on the way at home so I’m excited to get back after a great performance.”
‘Bruce Leroy’ gets first UFC victory
“The Ultimate Fighter 12″ villain Alex “Bruce Leroy” Caceres (6-4) of Miami, Fla., showed a variety of kicks and submission from the bottom to win a 3-round unanimous decision over former WEC featherweight champion Cole Escovedo (17-9) of Fresno in a fast-paced bantamweight bout. Caceres picked up his first UFC win by scores of 30-27, 30-27 and 30-27.
“I feel great and I don’t think it has all registered yet,” Cacaeres said. “This was my third fight under the UFC banner and considering that I lost my first two I knew that tonight it was do or die. After my last loss I felt it was my conditioning that cost me the win. House, the cut-man, told me I needed to work on my endurance and he gave me a list with some different sprints to do. I think those definitely helped me get the victory tonight. It’s my dream to fight in the UFC and I want to make sure it lasts as long as possible.”
Pierce gets split decision
Welterweight Mike Pierce (13-4) of Portland, Ore., pulled out a 3-round split decision over Paul Bradley (18-4) of Minneapolis, Minne. The scores were 30-27, 29-28 and 28-29.
“I just want to thank all the fans for their support,” Pierce said. ” I felt great tonight and I’m happy to get another win and continue moving up the ranks in this division.”
Rosa gets past Lucas
Light-heavyweight Aaron Rosa (17-4) of San Antonio, Tex., used his striking and clinch work to win a 3-round majority decision over Matt Lucas (14-3) of Tempe, Ariz. The scores were 28-28, 30-26 and 30-26.
” I was very happy to go out there and get the win in such a big show,” Rosa said. “When the people started cheering it made all the work worthwhile. My hands are feeling a little roughed up but I’m very excited to get back in the octagon as soon as possible. ”
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