Anderson Silva set a new record of successful UFC title defences as he knocked out Vitor Belfort to retain his middleweight crown for the eighth time.
Brazilian sets new record with eighth successful title defence
Anderson Silva set a new record of successful UFC title defences as he knocked out Vitor Belfort to retain his middleweight crown for the eighth time.
Silva faced what many experts thought to be his toughest challenger yet in Belfort at the co-main event of UFC 126 at the Mandalay Bay Events Centre in Las Vegas.
However, he came out all guns blazing against his dangerous opponent and completed a KO victory in the very first round to move ahead of Matt Hughes in the lead with the most UFC title defences in history.
"That's just one of the tricks I was working on," said Silva, who, for all intents and purposes, ended the bout with a spectacular front kick to the chin.
The chants of "Vitor, Vitor" came from the rafters as soon as referee Mario Yamasaki called the two fighters to battle, but there would be no initial fireworks, as the two cautiously circled each other for the first 90 seconds until Belfort landed a range-finding leg kick.
At the midway point, with still no meaningful action, Silva began showboating, with Belfort finally firing off a 1-2. Moments later, Belfort caught a Silva kick and the two tumbled to the mat.
They rose quickly, and Silva, significantly warmed up, eluded a Belfort haymaker and came back with a blistering left front kick to the chin that dropped "The Phenom."
Quickly moving in, Silva landed a 1-2 on his prone foe, and that was enough for Yamasaki to call a halt to the bout at the 3:25 mark to move Silva onto 28-4 and drop Belfort to 19-9.
"He caught me with a great kick," said Belfort. "Anderson Silva is a great fighter. I'll be back."
First loss
Also at UFC 126,
Jake Ellenberger pinned the first pro loss on
Carlos Eduardo Rocha's record, winning a close three-round split decision over the Brazilian in welterweight action.
Scores were 29-28 twice and 27-30 for Ellenberger, who improves to 24-5 while Rocha falls to 9-1.
Ellenberger and Rocha traded takedowns in the opening stages of the bout, with Rocha having more success as he pinned his foe to the mat while working from side control.
Staying active, Rocha worked on securing Ellenberger's leg from the north-south position, but Ellenberger worked his way free and got back to his feet with a minute left. Rocha came up short on an ensuing takedown attempt, but while Ellenberger pounded away with strikes, the Brazilian almost scored a rolling kimura that had the fans roaring as the round ended.
Round two was a tactical one, and while Rocha's final round attack of steady leg kicks stopped Ellenberger getting in his own strikes, 'The Juggernaut' did score a takedown late in the fight, apparently sealing the victory for himself.
Winning debut
Former WEC bantamweight champion
Miguel Angel Torres was successful in his UFC debut as he scored a shutout three round unanimous decision win over
Antonio Banuelos.
All three judges saw the bout 30-27 for Torres and Banuelos had few answers for Torres' height and reach advantage, leaving Torres to simply poke at his foe with his jab for five minutes while occasionally delivering a right hand or kick to the legs.
Torres didn't deviate from his fight plan in round two, but as he upped his work rate and his accuracy, he left Banuelos' face reddened and nose bloodied, and in the third round the East Chicago native began walking his foe down, even rocking him in the final minute.
And while Banuelos was game, he was unable to do anything to Torres outside of a late flurry of activity in the final ten seconds.
With the win, Torres improves to 38-3; Banuelos falls to 19-7.
