UFC 153: Brazil's Anderson Silva knocks out Stephan Bonnar in Rio de Janeiro
Anderson Silva extended his unbeaten run to 17 fights with a first-round knockout of Stephan Bonnar at UFC 153.
Last Updated: 14/10/12 3:21pm
The Brazilian (33-4), who is the middleweight champion but stepped up to light-heavyweight for the bout, delighted his home fans after stepping in to headline the event on four weeks' notice.
Former Ultimate Fighter runner-up Bonnar went on the offensive from the first bell and took advantage of a slip by Silva to back him up against the fence.
Silva soon freed himself, however, stepping back to the fence and daring his American opponent to attack him.
Bonnar accepted the invitation but after missing with a spinning back kick and a punch he was tripped to the mat and then dropped with a flush knee to the stomach.
Bonnar covered up but 'The Spider' swarmed in with a barrage of blows and referee Marc Goddard stopped the fight with 20 seconds left in the opening round.
Elsewhere on the card at the HSBC Arena, Brazil's Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira gave the crowd something else to cheer about as he made American Dave Herman submit in their heavyweight contest.
Nogueira successfully took the action to the mat in the second round and with 30 seconds left found the armbar and made Herman tap out.
American duo Jon Fitch and Phil Davies beat Brazilians Erick Silva and Wagner Prado respectively, while Demian Maia defeated Rick Story and Glover Teixeira stopped Fabio Maldonado in an all-Brazilian light-heavyweight clash.
