By FCF Staff
Anderson Silva added another highlight reel finish to his storied resume tonight in Las Vegas, Nevada, as the UFC Middleweight Champion stopped challenger Vitor Belfort in the first round, to extend his record to 28-4. After an uneventful opening minute, Silva began to pick up the pace and sent Belfort crashing to the mat with a snapping front kick. As a dazed Belfort tried to recover, Silva landed several more punches while standing above his fellow Brazilian, bringing the bout to a close at just the 3:29 mark.
Not only did Jon “Bones” Jones take out fellow prospect Ryan Bader with a second round, guillotine choke, the Greg Jackson trained fighter was informed by commentator Joe Rogan afterwards, that he will face light-heavyweight champ Murilo “Shogun” Rua next.
Jones controlled Bader throughout the bout with timely takedowns and a dominating top game, before sinking in the fight ending choke at 4:20 of round two. Rogan then proceeded to inform Jones that Rashad Evans will be unable to fight Rua as scheduled due to an injury, and that the 23 year-old fighter will compete for the title next.
In the card’s other feature attraction, Forrest Griffin worked his way to a unanimous decision win over accomplished vet Rich Franklin, to give the former light-heavyweight champ his first victory since 2009. While the bout was fairly competitive, Griffin was able to score points with takedowns and ground-and-pound strikes, as well as win more of the striking exhanges.
UFC 126 Broadcast Results
Anderson Silva def. Vitor Belfort via KO (strikes) - R1, 3:25
Forrest Griffin def. Rich Franklin via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Jon Jones def. Ryan Bader via submission (guillotine choke) - R2, 4:20
Jake Ellenberger def. Carlos Eduardo Rocha via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
Miguel Torres def. Antonio Banuelos via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Donald Cerrone def. Paul Kelly via submission (rear-naked choke) - R2, 3:48
Chad Mendes def. Michihiro Omigawa via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Demetrious Johnson def. Norifumi Yamamoto via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Paul Taylor def. Gabe Ruediger via knockout (strikes) - R2, 1:42
Kyle Kingsbury def. Ricardo Romero via TKO (punches) - R1, 0:21
