UFC 160 Results: ‘Velasquez vs. Bigfoot 2’ Play-by-Play & Updates

• UFC Heavyweight Title Fight: Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva
• Junior dos Santos vs. Mark Hunt
• Glover Teixeira vs. James Te Huna
• Gray Maynard vs. T.J. Grant
• Donald Cerrone vs. K.J. Noons
• Mike Pyle vs. Rick Story
• Dennis Bermudez vs. Max Holloway
• Colton Smith vs. Robert Whittaker
• Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Abel Trujillo
• Nah-Shon Burrell vs. Stephen Thompson
• Brian Bowles vs. George Roop
• Jeremy Stephens vs. Estevan Payan

Sherdog.com reports from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas at approximately 6:35 p.m. ET/3:35 p.m. PT with live UFC 160 play-by-play.

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Jeremy Stephens vs. Estevan Payan

Round 1
Payan comes out flicking a jab and lands a couple strong leg kicks outside. It’s Stephens coming forward, though, now throwing some hard low kicks of his own. One lands on Payan’s cup and referee Chris Tognoni pauses the action momentarily. Payan recovers and denies a takedown attempt from Stephens against the fence when they resume. They move to the center of the cage as Stephens continues to punish Payan’s lead leg. An overhand right from Payan appears to stagger Stephens, but the “Lil’ Heathen” shakes it off to shoot again. Payan tries a guillotine as they fall to the ground, but Stephens pops his head loose to set up in the Arizona Combat Sport fighter’s guard. Payan lands a couple solid shots from his back, then eats an elbow from Stephens. Upkick lands for Payan and he scrambles to his feet, bleeding from his forehead after the Stephens elbow. Stephens keeps Payan on the fence, where “El Terrible” looks for another guillotine. Stephens avoids it and completes the double-leg with 90 seconds left in the round, then cracks Payan with a knee as he stands back up. Stephens lands a kick inside, takes a right-handed counter in return. More hard inside leg kicks land for Stephens, then a big right straight staggers Payan with 45 seconds left. Stephens finishes the round strong with a leg kick, another big right hand and a slapping kick to the body.

TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Stephens
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Stephens
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Stephens

Round 2
Stephens goes straight back to the right hand and lands it on a leaning Payan less than 15 seconds into the round. Payan is on his back foot, still bleeding from the cut opened in the first round, but trying to retaliate with leg kicks and punches; most of the punches miss, but a couple leg kicks connect. Stephens hits a takedown on the fence and Payan quickly works back up. Stephens keeps the action on the fence until he’s able to land another takedown. Once on the floor, Stephens works Payan’s face with more elbows from guard, bloodying him further. Stephens gets mount with two minutes left and Payan gives up his back. Stephens tries a neck crank, can’t get the tap and gives it up. Payan is just gushing blood all over the canvas as he kneels with Stephens on his back and fends off a rear-naked choke attempt. There is a sizeable pool of blood on the ground when Payan gets up at the end of the round.

TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Stephens
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Stephens
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Stephens

Round 3
Payan looks to be the aggressor in the early going of the final round, but Stephens lands the first big offense with a thudding high kick to the side of Payan’s face. Stephens snaps off some quick punches, dodges a few slow ones from Payan, and then hits another takedown. Right hands from Stephens now, as he traps a kneeling Payan against the fence. Payan gets to his feet, his face covered in blood, and defends a double-leg attempt by grabbing the fence, for which he’s warned by ref Tognoni. Payan turns it around and now puts Stephens’ back to the cage, but Stephens soon explodes out and plows Payan to the mat in the middle of the cage. Payan continues to cover the canvas in blood as Stephens drops elbows from side-control to the final horn.

TJ De Santis scores the round 10-8 Stephens (30-26 Stephens)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Stephens (30-27 Stephens)
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Stephens (30-27 Stephens)

Official result: The judges score the bout 30-26, 30-26 and 30-27 for the winner by unanimous decision, Jeremy Stephens.

Brian Bowles vs. George Roop

Round 1
The rangy Roop comes out throwing a head kick which Bowles backs away from. Bowles moves around the outside, pushed out by a front-kick from Roop. A knee lands for Roop as he pulls Bowles into the Thai plum and releases. Bowles digs a right to the body, sticks and moves with a jab, then takes a leg kick outside. A left to the body lands for Bowles, then a right hand behind the ear puts Roop on rubbery legs. Roop comes forward and throws a straight punch, countered by another right from Bowles, who goes back to moving around the perimeter. Bowles blocks a couple high kicks from Roop and dodges a knee, but Roop runs in behind it to land a one-two and a slapping head kick. Bowles tries to counter and walks into a jab; Roop goes to the outside with a leg kick, misses one up high. A combination from Roop puts Bowles on the fence momentarily, then they circle out. Another right hand behind the ear takes the legs out from underneath Roop. Bowles smells blood and pounces, catching Roop in a deep guillotine with 50 seconds left. Roop looks like he’ll be able to survive on top, then the choke gets deeper as Bowles rolls to mount. Roop slips loose, so Bowles sits up in mount and punishes the big man with an elbow. Roop gets his knee inside and pushes Bowles out of mount just before the horn.

TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Bowles
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Bowles
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Bowles

Round 2
Roop sticks a few jabs and lands a front kick to the body in the opening minute of round two, mostly keeping Bowles on the outside. Bowles steps in to throw a left and gets zapped with a stiff left from Roop, who blasts the former WEC champ with more heavy right hands as Bowles kneels at the fence. Bowles is out of it, not offering anything back, and ref Herb Dean waves this one off. George Roop gets the win via TKO at 1:43 of round two.

Nah-Shon Burrell vs. Stephen Thompson

Round 1
Thompson tries a spinning kick early and gets rushed against the fence by Burrell, but “Wonderboy” quickly turns it around with underhooks. Unable to finish a takedown, Thompson puts Burrell on the fence, where Burrell connects with a couple good knees to the body. Burrell slips out and comes forward on Thompson, who lands a kick. Burrell connects with an uppercut in the clinch, but he’s taken down a few seconds later as he walks in on Thompson and is met with a double-leg. Burrell gets up and is put back on the fence with about 3:00 remaining. Again, it’s Burrell getting the better in the clinch with knees up the middle. Thompson scores a few of his own before Burrell shoves him off. Burrell walks Thompson down and puts a hand on his throat as Thompson is pushed against the cage. They exchange positions a few times and ref Steve Mazzagatti tells them to break off and get busy. Burrell walks in on Thompson again and eats an uppercut in order to put the striker on the fence. Burrell botches a takedown and gets back-mounted by Thompson, but the Strikeforce vet is able to easily stand again. Thompson holds his man on the fence for the final seconds before Burrell charges out, swinging wild punches and kicks.

TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Thompson
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Thompson
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Burrell

Round 2
Thompson holds Burrell on the fence for a moment, then releases and lands a solid pair of body shots. Burrell looks to clinch now and is turned around, once again with his back to the cage. Thompson again leans Burrell on the fence, not doing much with the position before Burrell is able to escape. They clinch up again and Thompson lands a knee to the body, gets turned around, then reverses again to take the outside. They disengage and Thompson lands a one-two, then sneaks a left through as Burrell covers up. Thompson ducks a left hook and again presses Burrell against the cage. Burrell lands a right hook and gets grazed with a right high kick. He walks Thompson toward the cage and lands a leg kick before Thompson spins around with another wheel kick, then lands a short right. Burrell partially lands a spinning elbow before being pushed against the cage again, where the welterweights finish the round.

TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Thompson
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Thompson
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Thompson

Round 3
Burrell charges with a solid overhand right, then slips out as Thompson tries to clinch. He can’t avoid the next clinch, though, and soon they’re back in the familiar position with Thompson holding Burrell against the cage. They jockey for position with Thompson eventually staying outside. Burrell shoves him off and walks forward, with a body-head combo; Thompson answers with a series of leg kicks. Burrell tries a couple uppercuts in the collar-tie but they seem to be deflected as Thompson covers up. Thompson puts Burrell on the fence again, but Burrell breaks out and spins Thompson around with a heavy left hook. Thompson survives and escapes to the center of the cage, where he slaps Burrell’s head with a round kick. Burrell steps in with another left hook, then gets double-legged to the ground with 1:50 left in the fight. Burrell is quickly back up and gets pressed on the fence, where Thompson lands a single knee to the body. They tie up in the middle and break after Burrell scores a knee up the middle. Thompson is exhausted, stumbling around the cage, and Burrell tries to capitalize with a couple left hands. Thompson grabs Burrell after a missed flying knee attempt and holds him on the fence one last time. Burrell gets out with 10 seconds left and finishes with another three or four knees to Thompson’s gut.

TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Burrell (29-28 Thompson)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Burrell (29-28 Thompson)
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Burrell (29-28 Burrell)

Official result: The judges score the bout 29-28, 30-27 and 29-28 for the winner by unanimous decision, Stephen Thompson.

Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Abel Trujillo

Round 1
Trujillo stalks out from the center while Nurmagomedov bounces around outside, both men tight with high guards, waiting to strike. It’s Trujillo who lands first, swiping the backpedaling Nurmagomedov’s face with a wide right hand. Trujillo changes levels and plows Nurmagomedov to the mat in the middle of the cage. Nurmagomedov immediately throws up his guard and catches Trujillo’s right arm. Trujillo steps over the top and releases the pressure after a tense couple moments. They scramble up and it’s Nurmagomedov tripping Trujillo down now, then grabbing a rear-waistlock as Trujillo tries to stand. Trujillo barely gets to his feet before he’s dumped on his head again by Nurmagomedov, who keeps hold of the waistlock as they go up and down. Two minutes left and Nurmagomedov ragdolls Trujillo again, this time after Trujillo was warned not to grab the fence by ref Mario Yamasaki. Nurmagomedov is just having his way here, throwing Trujillo around. Trujillo rolls through and finds himself on top after a scramble with one minute remaining. Nurmagomedov throws up a triangle, and Trujillo’s right arm is trapped. Nurmagomedov rolls into full mount with 30 seconds left, still can’t finish the triangle choke, so he changes to an armbar. Nurmagomedov is able to lock on another triangle, but this time Trujillo is saved by the bell.

TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Nurmagomedov
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Nurmagomedov
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Nurmagomedov

Round 2
Trujillo walks Nurmagomedov toward the fence, only to have a punch ducked and countered by a hard Nurmagomedov right hand. Trujillo escapes a clinch, but walks straight into another right hand that spins him around. Nurmagomedov grabs another rear-waistlock and puts Trujillo on his knees again. The Russian scores with knees to the body before Trujillo is able to stand. Nurmagomedov trips him down again and now locks on a body triangle from back-mount. Trujillo escapes and is instantly thrown back to the ground. The cycle repeats two more times before Trujillo is able to roll out again. This time, Trujillo moves to full mount, but it lasts only a few seconds before Nurmagomedov gets butterfly hooks, stands and takes Trujillo down again. Nurmagomedov works the body of Trujillo with more knees, Trujillo stands and Nurmagomedov hits another takedown with under a minute remaining. Trujillo stands and is pressed against the fence, where Nurmagomedov socks him with a few lefts before the horn.

TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Nurmagomedov
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Nurmagomedov
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Nurmagomedov

Round 3
Trujillo walks straight at Nurmagomedov and lands a knee before he’s latched onto by the Russian and dragged back to the ground. They’re up and down again, Nurmagomedov keeping back control as they transition and throwing sporadic punches. Trujillo stands and is slammed back down three, four more times; he motions to ref Yamasaki, throwing his hands up in frustration. Nurmagomedov drills the body with a few knees, then releases the waistlock and tries to advance position on the ground. Trujillo gets to his knees, then his feet, where he throws up his arms again as he’s tossed to the canvas. The last minute plays out similar to the previous 14, with Nurmagomedov having his way in the grappling department, throwing Trujillo around the Octagon.

TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Nurmagomedov (30-27 Nurmagomedov)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Nurmagomedov (30-27 Nurmagomedov)
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Nurmagomedov (30-27 Nurmagomedov)

Official result: All three judges score the bout 30-27 for the winner by unanimous decision, Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Colton Smith vs. Robert Whittaker

Round 1
Whittaker takes the outside with his left hand hanging by his side and his right hand cocked. He shuts down a shot from Smith, who moves back out and throws a leg kick inside. Whittaker steps out of the way of a Smith right hand and counters beautifully with a pair of punches. Smith catches Whittaker with a hard right, but Whittaker seems unfazed and denies another takedown attempt seconds later. Whittaker sticks Smith with a pair of hard jabs, then drops his left hand back to his waist. Smith circles counterclockwise, away from Whittaker’s power hand, and has a high kick blocked. Whittaker lands another jab and backs out of the way of a Smith flurry. Two minutes left in the round and Smith misses with another bunch of punches, eating another of the jabs which has reddened Smith’s face. Whittaker shuts down two more takedown attempts and goes back to walking Smith around the outside. Smith strays low with a leg kick and is warned to be careful by ref Chris Tognoni. A left straight from Whittaker has Smith covering up briefly, but Smith comes back to sting Whittaker with a punch of his own, then drops the Australian with a big right. Smith tries a kimura, but Whittaker stands and rolls out of it to finish the round on his feet.

TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Smith
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Whittaker
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Smith

Round 2
Smith rushes forward to strike and has the legs taken out from under him by a Whittaker left hand behind the ear. Whittaker lands an uppercut as he tries to follow-up, but Smith is able to get his wits about him and stay on his feet. Smith’s right eye is looking rough as he sparks Whittaker with a clean right cross. Whittaker, for his part, keeps walking Smith around the outside with his hand cocked. Smith lands a right and takes a hard hook in return, then eats a combo from Whittaker as Smith moves forward. Smith nearly gets Whittaker down on the next takedown attempt, but Whittaker limp-legs him and stays up. Whittaker stands stock-still until Smith rushes him with a flurry of punches and a knee that lands low. Whittaker recovers quickly and the fight resumes with 2:00 on the clock. Smith rushes in to strike and the welterweights clash heads. Whittaker gets out of the way of a Smith combo and snipes back with a straight left, further banging up Smith’s damaged eye. A left hook staggers Smith, then a right hand, and now Smith is bleeding from his left cheek as well. Whittaker denies a takedown try and mugs Smith with uppercuts in the clinch in the final 20 seconds.

TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Whittaker
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Whittaker
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Whittaker

Round 3
Whittaker pops Smith with a pair of jabs early on, moving out of the way of the American “TUF” winner’s punches. Smith rushes forward and gets caught with a left hand on the chin that sends him falling to his back. Whittaker follows up with a couple punches, but ref Chris Tognoni is already running in to halt this fight. Smith protests the stoppage immediately, as he was still moving to roll over and avoid the punches when Tognoni stepped in. Nonetheless, this one goes to Robert Whittaker, the winner via TKO at 41 seconds of round three.

Dennis Bermudez vs. Max Holloway

Round 1
Holloway has his jab working early, touching Bermudez’s chin with a pair of straight left. Bermudez shoots in for a takedown and is forced to release when Holloway grabs a headlock. Another quick jab, and Holloway steps out of the way of Bermudez’s left hand. Bermudez grazes with a right hand and lands a snappy leg kick outside. Holloway is still moving well, though, sidestepping most of Bermudez’s punches before they’re thrown. Bermudez shoots and again Holloway defends with a guillotine. They break and Bermudez chops with a leg kick outside. Holloway catches Bermudez leaning and drills him with a turning kick. The Hawaiian tries to finish with punches, but Bermudez grabs hold of him and presses Holloway against the cage with a minute left. Holloway gets out and Bermudez looks to have recovered now. Holloway lands the same spinning kick -- this time to the body -- then does it again, the second one knocking Bermudez to the ground seconds before the end of the frame.

TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Holloway
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Holloway
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Holloway

Round 2
Bermudez nearly finishes a single-leg, but Holloway shoves him to the ground, then hops on the back of the kneeling Bermudez. They stand up and Bermudez eats a kick to the face on the way. Holloway blocks a head kick, picks at Bermudez with a couple jabs and misses with a spinning kick to the body. Now bleeding from his nose, Bermudez tries a Superman punch that pulls up short. Holloway digs a left to the body and goes up top with a right hand that slows Bermudez’s pace midway through the round. A leg kick from Bermudez nearly drops Holloway, but the Hawaiian pops back up. Bermudez puts Holloway on the fence after a failed takedown try. Holloway quickly turns it around, giving Bermudez an elbow to the face for his trouble. Bermudez lands a leg kick outside, answered by a hard left kick to the body by Holloway. A right high kick to the head lands but doesn’t seem to impact Bermudez, who ducks a spinning kick and misses with a leaping kick of his own. Both men reset and touch gloves, smiling. Bermudez with a takedown in the final seconds; he’s forced to dodge an armbar attempt before he’s able to land a couple punches as time runs out.

TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Holloway
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Holloway
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Holloway

Round 3
Bermudez hits a takedown on the fence and again has to contend with the lanky Holloway’s guard. Bermudez seems to be framing up a choke of his own before releasing and resetting on the feet. Holloway is back to moving around the outside, picking at Bermudez with jabs. Bermudez is the aggressor now, attacking Holloway’s legs with kicks outside and now scoring with some jabs of his own. Bermudez grabs a single-leg and sweeps the other, then holds Holloway on the fence when the youngster stands back up. Holloway escapes the clinch halfway through the final round and resumes jabbing. He catches a low kick and puts Bermudez on the ground, but Bermudez is right back up, hitting a takedown of his own. Bermudez postures up and slams Holloway with a series of vicious elbows, instantly opening a cut and forming a nasty hematoma on the left side of Holloway’s forehead. Bermudez almost advances to mount with 30 seconds left, gets stuffed back to half-guard. Bermudez finishes the round strong on top, dropping punches on the suddenly banged-up Holloway.

TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Bermudez (29-28 Holloway)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Bermudez (29-28 Holloway)
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Bermudez (29-28 Holloway)

Official result: The judges score the bout 29-28 Holloway, 29-28 Bermudez and 29-28 for the winner by split decision, Dennis Bermudez.

Mike Pyle vs. Rick Story

Round 1
Story immediately pushes Pyle to the outside, then throws “Quicksand” to the canvas as Pyle moves in to tie up. Pyle threatens with a straight armbar from his closed guard, slowing Story’s punching attack. Pyle switches to a shoulder lock and creeps his legs up while Story tries to flatten him out. Pyle catches an armbar, but Story pulls out and resets in guard just about midway through the round. Pyle gets to his feet and eats a series of hooks to the body and head from Story as they stand. A cracking left hand is followed by more shots to Pyle’s body, but Story backs out. Story lands a big left hand and Pyle goes down like he’s been shot. He manages to cover up as Story goes wild with punches, and ref Mazzagatti is going to allow this one to continue. Story rides out the remaining 20 seconds on top, blasting Pyle’s body with punches.

TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Story
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-8 Story
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-8 Story

Round 2
Story is aggressive early, but he runs into a shot from Pyle as he comes in to strike. Story hits a takedown at the base of the fence and Pyle immediately gets to work on a straight armbar, then transitions to a kimura. Story steps over and extracts his arm, then goes back to Pyle’s closed guard. The pace slows halfway through the fight, with the only offense coming in the form of a couple short elbows from Pyle on the bottom. Pyle tries to angle off the cage and throw up a triangle or armbar, but Story is hip to it and flattens his man out. Story doesn’t do anything of note through the latter half of the round, but manages to finish the frame on top.

TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Story
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Pyle
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Pyle

Round 3
Story catches Pyle with a left to the body and a right to the head, and Pyle circles away from the fence. A straight right from Pyle has Story backing up, then shooting in after he catches a knee from Pyle. He can’t get the takedown, so Story shoves him to the ground. A slow push kick from Pyle backs Story away. Both men are moving slow with three minutes left in the final round, but Pyle steps inside and cracks Story with a nice standing elbow. Story changes levels and puts Pyle on the fence. Pyle scores with a high knee and another standing elbow that forces Story to back out. More elbows land for Pyle as he walks in on a fatigued Story, who reverses the momentum by holding Pyle on the fence with a body-lock. Story works some knees to Pyle’s thighs as Pyle puts a hand on the ground to prevent knees to the head. Story lands a pair of slow punches to the body, answered by a nasty knee to the body from Pyle. Punches are adding up for Pyle now as he marches in on Story, landing shots against the fence. Story comes off the fence and hits a takedown with 40 seconds left, and Pyle quickly goes on the hunt for an armbar. He can’t get it, but he’s able to roll Story over and take his back. Story defends the RNC and one last armbar attempt before the horn.

TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Pyle (29-28 Story)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Pyle (28-28 Draw)
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Pyle (28-28 Draw)

Official result: The judges score the bout 29-28 Story, 29-28 Pyle and 29-28 for the winner by split decision, Mike Pyle.

Donald Cerrone vs. K.J. Noons

Round 1
Noons opens up with a trio of outside leg kicks, which Cerrone quickly responds to with some chopping kicks of his own. Cerrone has a takedown attempt thwarted, but scores a knee on his way out. Noons has his head snapped back by a stiff Cerrone jab, then steps out of the way of a “Cowboy” head kick. Noons is racking up the leg kicks, moving forward on Cerrone, who fakes a takedown and socks the former Strikeforce champ with a left hook. A left high kick grazes Noons, then Cerrone attacks the lead leg inside. Cerrone hits a takedown midway through the round and drills Noons with an uppercut as they stand. Cerrone nearly takes his man down as he kicks out Noons’ lead leg. A knee to the body lands for Cerrone, and Noons answers by coming forward with a jab. Noons lands a crossing right, eats a short left from Cerrone. Now a combo from Cerrone -- right to the body, left to the body, right high kick -- stuns Noons, and Cerrone shows good movement to dodge Noons’ next combo.

TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Cerrone
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Cerrone
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Cerrone

Round 2
Cerrone catches a kick and instantly puts Noons on the ground, nearly securing back control, but Noons squirms over to the fence and stands up less than 30 seconds into the round. Jabs are working for Cerrone now, and a right hand, too, as Noons turns away. Noons comes back to stick Cerrone with a right hand of his own and tries to get in the pocket. Cerrone keeps him on the outside with kicks and outstretched hands, making Noons miss on his punches. A backhand catches Noons and now he’s pawing at his left eye. Cerrone attacks with a combination, Noons comes forward with a punch that’s ducked by Cerrone and countered with a left hand. Noons strings together a couple left hands, but his face is looking worse, now bleeding from his nose and his left cheek. Noons closes in with a lovely spinning back-fist and gets plowed to the ground by Cerrone, who drops grinding ground-and-pound through the Hawaiian’s guard. Cerrone moves to half-guard on Noons’ right side and lays a forearm across his throat between brutish punches and knees to the body. Cerrone finishes the round in side-control, grinding his forearm on Noons’ face.

TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Cerrone
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Cerrone
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Cerrone

Round 3
The lightweights trade leg kicks inside to open the final frame, and Cerrone drills Noons’ ribs with a hard knee in an exchange. Both men are throwing kicks and punches, Noons with the higher volume, but neither is landing much of anything clean. With 3:45 left in the fight, Cerrone hits a takedown in the middle of the cage and postures up to elbow from Noons’ closed guard. Mixing up the elbows to the body and head, Cerrone bloodies Noons further, this time on the left side of his face. Noons, to his credit, is holding on tight, though he’s not giving any offense in return. A couple more heavy elbows from Cerrone have Noons getting busy with some elbows of his own, but they don’t seem to have much effect on the Greg Jackson pupil, who just keeps throwing punches to the body. Cerrone stands and comes back down, looking to advance position but stalling out in Noon’s half-guard. This gives Noons an opportunity to throw more elbows, but Cerrone passes to the left side anyhow. Ref Mario Yamasaki asks the bloody-faced Noons if he can see as they enter the final 30 seconds; Cerrone closes out the fight on top.

TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Cerrone (30-27 Cerrone)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Cerrone (30-27 Cerrone)
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Cerrone (30-27 Cerrone)

Official result: The judges score the bout 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26 for the winner by unanimous decision, Donald Cerrone.

Gray Maynard vs. T.J. Grant

Round 1
Maynard takes the center of the cage while Grant moves around the outside, both men landing shots in the opening minute before meeting in the middle. They exchange overhand rights now, and Maynard moves in with another right. Grant answers back in the continued battle of right hands, this time backing Maynard up toward the fence. Maynard backs the Canadian off with a knee, but Grant comes straight back in and drops Maynard with a crushing right straight on the jaw. Grant bombs the fallen Maynard with lefts and rights on the ground, then attacks with a knee and another big right when Maynard somehow staggers up. Maynard is on all fours with Grant dropping punches when ref Chris Tognoni intervenes. T.J. Grant extends his winning streak to five straight with a TKO at 2:07 of round one.

Glover Teixeira vs. James Te Huna

Round 1
Te Huna comes out swinging punches and Teixeira quickly changes levels to grab hold of a single-leg. The Brazilian releases and slugs Te Huna with a right hand, but Te Huna stands strong and comes back with more punches and an inside thigh kick that strays high. Teixeira hits a takedown in the center of the cage after one minute and postures up in Te Huna’s half-guard on the right. A couple heavy elbows get through for Teixeira as he works to advance, then gets put back in Te Huna’s closed guard. Te Huna is clinging to Teixeira’s left thigh, covering up and trying to stand as Teixeira throws left hands. Teixeira stands up with Te Huna and pulls guard with a tight guillotine. Teixeira wrenches the choke and Te Huna quickly taps out, submitting at 2:38 of round one.

Junior dos Santos vs. Mark Hunt

Round 1
Steve Mazzagatti is the referee for tonight’s heavyweight co-main event. Hunt opens up with a strong outside leg kick as the big men feint and step, with dos Santos’ back facing the fence. A couple more leg kicks from Hunt, not as strong, and he gets JDS to jump back with a faked right hand. Now a couple real right hands come through for Hunt, followed by a left as he rushed dos Santos on the fence. A huge overhand right from dos Santos sends Hunt to the ground, but the “Super Samoan” rolls through, stands up and survives the Brazilian’s follow-up punches on the fence. Halfway through the round now and it’s Hunt in the middle, dos Santos moving around the outside. They change positions and Hunt backs dos Santos away with a swiping left hook. Dos Santos lunges in with a right hand, can’t quite reach the back-stepping Hunt’s face. Hunt tries to close the distance and dos Santos circles out. Dos Santos sticks a straight punch in Hunt’s gut; the former champ is bleeding from a cut on the inside corner of his left eye. Hunt misses with a spinning back-elbow and takes a short counter left from “Cigano.” Another overhand bomb from JDS lands behind Hunt’s ear, but Hunt stays up this time and the horn sounds.

TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 dos Santos
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 dos Santos
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 dos Santos

Round 2
Dos Santos flicks out an inside leg kick and circles counterclockwise on Hunt, then cuts an angle back. Another overhand shot goes for dos Santos, then a jab to the body. An outside leg kick lands for Hunt and he steps out of the way of a dos Santos left. The next left hook connects, but Hunt stands in there. He catches dos Santos with a left hand as he backs the ex-champ into the fence, then follows with a right to the body. Yet another overhand right thumps Hunt, then a stiff jab. Dos Santos piles on more jabs midway through the round, but Hunt won’t stop coming forward. Dos Santos ducks under a punch, resets and lands a spinning back-kick to Hunt’s body. Hunt keeps coming and scores a couple body shots of his own, then walks through jabs to slug JDS with a big left on the cage. Dos Santos hits a takedown in the middle of the cage with 90 seconds left in the round; the crowd immediately boos the decision. Dos Santos grinds on Hunt’s face with his forearm before briefly looking for an armlock. Half a minute left now and Hunt is getting roughed up on the floor as dos Santos passes to side control to look for a mounted crucifix. He can’t get it, but Cigano hits Hunt with a couple nasty elbows before the end of the round. Hunt goes back to his corner bleeding from the nose.

TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 dos Santos
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 dos Santos
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 dos Santos

Round 3
Dos Santos has Hunt biting on feints now, and he plucks the New Zealander with a left hand before dipping out to the left. Hunt walks him toward the cage, so dos Santos circles out and sticks a couple more jabs. Hunt pushes him to the outside again, this time clipping dos Santos with a nice left hook. Hunt misses with a tired body kick and takes one in return. Three minutes left and dos Santos stops moving backward momentarily, coming forward to stick a jab. Hunt walks forward again, lands a leg kick, misses with a vicious overhand right. Dos Santos puts a right straight on Hunt’s cheek that has the Super Samoan smiling. Ninety seconds left now and a tired Mark Hunt is trying to land a homerun shot, but dos Santos’ movement is too much at this late stage. Dos Santos cracks him with a left hook at the 80-second mark, and Hunt somehow stays vertical. As Hunt trudges forward, dos Santos wheels around with a spinning kick, his left heel landing flush on Hunt’s head. Hunt falls to his back and one big right hand from Cigano is all it takes to turn out the lights. Junior dos Santos wins with a highlight-reel knockout at 4:18 of round three.

UFC Heavyweight Title Fight:
Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva

Round 1
Mario Yamasaki is the referee for tonight’s heavyweight title fight, with judges Lester Griffin, Junichiro Kamijo and Chris Lee scoring the bout. Velasquez paws with a pair of jabs and quickly shoots on Silva’s left leg. Silva steps out of it and covers up with a high guard as Velasquez swings a right hand up top. The challenger shuts down another takedown try and swings a wide right hook, which Velasquez ducks under to land a shot to the body. A right straight cracks Silva’s chin and “Bigfoot” drops to his knees, trying to grab a double-leg. Velasquez stuffs the head and moves to north-south, then loops his left arm around the kneeling Silva’s waist and unloads with 10 or 12 right hands before ref Yamasaki intervenes. Cain Velasquez retains his UFC heavyweight title via TKO at 1:21 of round one.