UFC on FOX Results – Dos Santos Pummels Velasquez

In the UFC’s anticipated debut on FOX, it didn’t take long for the inaugural fight to end.

Junior dos Santos won the UFC Heavyweight Championship in a little over a minute as he knocked out the champion, Cain Velasquez from the Honda Center in Anaheim.

Dos Santos came into the fight as the betting underdog, but a devastating right hand early in the first round caught the champion in the ear and sent him crashing.

With Velasquez’ equilibrium admittedly thrown off, dos Santos was able to finish the fight with a series of ground-and-pound strikes that left Velasquez face down in the octagon.

The Brazilian exploded with joy as he becomes the third Brazilian to hold a UFC title, joining middleweight champ Anderson Silva and featherweight kingpin Jose Aldo.

In the night’s co-main event, Ben Henderson earned a lightweight title shot against Frankie Edgar with his unanimous decision win over Clay Guida.

The contest was very competitive and neither man seemed to have an obvious superiority over the other, but Henderson was able to gain more dominant positions than Guida and he also exhibited more control during the fight.

For complete UFC on FOX 1 results, check out the jump.

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UFC 125 Picks & Predictions

UFC 125 takes place on Saturday from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. The event features five very intriguing and exciting fights, headlined by a battle for the UFC Lightweight Championship. Here are my thoughts on who will win on the main card bouts.

UFC Lightweight Championship – Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard: I look for the champion to retain his belt and avenge a prior loss to Maynard in 2008. Since that time I feel like Edgar has improved greatly as a fighter while Maynard is simply a slightly better version of himself. Maynard will get some takedowns on the champ, but I expect Edgar to bounce back up and use his boxing to tire the challenger before scoring some takedowns in the later rounds to earn a decision victory.

UFC Middleweight Bout – Chris Leben vs. Brian Stann: While this fight doesn’t deserve co-main event status, it still should be exciting. Leben is riding a wave of momentum that will not be stopped on Saturday as his punching power should carry him to a third round TKO of Stann, who will put up a game effort.

UFC Light Heavyweight Bout – Brandon Vera vs. Thiago Silva: This may be Vera’s final UFC fight as I expect Silva to pressure him and not let him set up his kicks. Silva will do a good job of closing the distance and overwhelming Vera with his power and grappling ability. I like Silva to win by unanimous decision.

UFC Welterweight Bout – Nate Diaz vs. Dong Hyun Kim: Kim is a very under-rated fighter as he is kind of like the Yushin Okami of this weight class as is very strong and bigger than anyone else in the weight class. I like Kim to use that size to get Diaz to the ground and keep him from using his boxing. It probably won’t be the most exciting fight, but it will be another decision win for Kim.

UFC Lightweight Bout – Takanori Gomi vs. Clay Guida: I like Guida and the energy he brings to a fight, but his short arms tend to put him in bad spots against strikers. I think Guida will get careless early in the fight and get caught with a big punch by Guida while will lead to a TKO finish in the opening round.

UFC 117 Post-Fight Fighter Quotes

LAS VEGAS - JULY 03: Mixed martial artist Clay Guida (L) and actor, comedian and Ultimate Fighting Championship color commentator Joe Rogan joke around at the official Silver Star Casting Co. pre-party for UFC 116 at Studio 54 inside the MGM Grand Hotel/Casino early July 3, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images for MGM Resorts International)

Matt Brown of HeavyMMA.com compiled some great post-fight quotes from fighters of UFC 117.

Dennis Hallman

“The difference for me today was my cardio. My cardio was so much better tonight than it has been. Yeah he hit me with some good shots but I was just waiting for him to get close so I can take him down.
I want to thank Team Quest because they definitely made a difference for me this fight. The significance of the win proves that I am back and a factor in the welterweight division.
Ben Saunders is a really tough kid and he has a bright future ahead of him.”

Clay Guida

“I want to thank Rafael Dos Anjos and his camp for taking this fight. I’m in here to win. I’m not in here to hurt my opponents so I apologize for that Raffy, you’re a tough son of a gun. I want to thank my trainers and Greg Jackson for getting me ready for this fight.”

(On switching to Greg Jackson’s camp)

“[It made] a world of difference. It took me a while to realize I’m my biggest distraction. Coach is going to make me a champion. Champions aren’t born, they’re made.”

Read the rest of the quotes here.

UFC 117 – 10 things learned

Chael Sonnen during the press conference for the Ultimate Fighting Championship 109 event at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas on February 4, 2010.

E. Spencer Kyte of HeavyMMA.com details the 10 things that we learned from UFC 117.

It Isn’t Over ‘til It’s Over
For four-plus rounds, Chael Sonnen dominated UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. Manhandling him at every turn, Sonnen followed through on every pre-fight promise for the first twenty minutes of the fight.
As everyone was settling in to watch the fifth round play out just like the four before it, it happened; Sonnen gave Silva a small opening and the champion took advantage, hooking on a triangle, forcing Sonnen to tap and miss out on the middleweight championship that he looked ready to claim.

Silva was behind on every card, with scores of 40-34, 40-35, and 40-36 heading into the final frame, and finding a finish when he absolutely needed to only serves as further proof that absolutely anything can and does happen in this sport and that it really isn’t over ‘til it’s over.

Read the entire article here.

UFC 117 Winner Options

CHICAGO- OCTOBER 25:  Anderson Silva (R) fights Patrick Cote in the Middleweight Title Bout at UFC's Ultimate Fight Night at Allstate Arena on October 25, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Brett C. Jones of HeavyMMA.com highlights the winner options for UFC 117.

Anderson Silva

Option 1: Chael Sonnen

It’s rare that a fighter not only loses but is stopped and has a valid claim for a rematch, but indeed Sonnen proved that he belongs in the cage with Silva for another 25 minutes. The fight could absolutely end much quicker the second time around, and while that seems likely to long time witnesses of Silva’s career, it seems even more likely at this moment that Sonnen could again put Silva on his back and batter Silva to earn a victory. He’ll have to learn to defend the armbar from the triangle position, and there’s no indication that he will do so, but you simply cannot discount Sonnen’s first 22 or so minutes of success against Silva.
It’s been suggested by several people, including Sonnen, that the two could be featured as coached on TUF 13 in a USA v. Brazil edition, and that makes perfect sense not only to hype up the rematch as much as possible but also to give the division some time to breath. Sadly, this may mean that Yushin Okami, the last man to earn a victory over Silva, may once again find himself unable to make his way into a title match, at least for another year.

Read the rest of the article here.

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