Photo via UFC

The Brazilian Junior dos Santos entered the cage at UFC 166, on the evening of Saturday, April 19, in order to regain the UFC heavyweight belt. The owner of the belt, Cain Velasquez , lost and regained the belt in two previous fights with “Cigano,” and the big boys held the “litmus test” in the octagon assembled in Houston, Texas.

Superior from start to finish, Cain confirmed favoritism and defended his belt, defeating the Brazilian game and winning by TKO. Already in the penultimate fight of the night, Daniel Cormier and Roy Nelson fought great battle , but Cormier got the better. Check out the highlights :

Velasquez beats up dos Santos … again

Cain and “Cigano” came together in the cage for the third time to definitively answer the question of who the best heavyweight in the world is.

It did not take long for Cain to indicate his game. Pressing the grid , feinting to takedown and applying hard blows in the gaps, the Brazilian dictated the pace of the fight in five rounds of combat. Junior in response uttered strong right cross. Some found Cain, but never with surgical precision that would be necessary to bring down the defending champion .

The fight moved toward a clear 50-45 when Junior risked a finish on the neck, still standing. Cain turned around, fell to the floor, and Cigano hit his head on the ground. Stunned by the punishment he had received from Velasquez, Junior covered up and Cain finished the fight while standing over him and landing strikes. The TKO came at just over three minutes of the final round.

Cormier gets a unanimous win over Nelson in co-main

In the co-main event, Daniel Cormier and Roy Nelson faced in combat also valid in the heavyweight division of the UFC .

Starting the fight, Cormier expected to respect the stone hands from Nelson and went straight to the grappling. The paunchy black belt in Jiu-Jitsu was easy prey for the wrestler, falling to his back and even trying a kimura with Cormier in side control.

But then comes the clever bit: Whoever thought Cormier would avoid a standing exchange was wrong. After working the falls, Cormier used his head, causing Roy to think to defend takedowns, to combine rapid and accurate punches . In the assault, Daniel took advantage while grabbing and hitting.

In the second stage, Daniel returned to fight on the feet, challenging the lethal overhand right by Nelson. Ducking that punch and landing kicks, Cormier worked smoothly to take the second round as well.

In the third and last round, more of the same. Falls, blows some answers fast and Roy. Cormier walked one more step . Roy Nelson tried to pressure Cormier but experienced wrestler remained calm, administered and maintained his unbeaten record in the UFC with a unanimous decision to Daniel Cormier .

Other highlights were the devastating knockout of Gabriel Gonzaga over Shawn Jordan and the epic clash starring Gilbert Melendez and Diego Sanchez, which will be a fight to remember for many years. Check out the results and winners of UFC 166 bonuses:

Main Card:
Cain Velasquez def. Junior dos Santos by TKO at 3:09, Round 5
Daniel Cormier def. Roy Nelson by unanimous decision
Gilbert Melendez def. Diego Sanchez by unanimous decision (Fight of the Night)
Gabriel Gonzaga def. Shawn Jordan by KO at 1:33, Round 1
John Dodson def. Darell Montague by KO at 4:13, Round 1 (KO of the Night)

Prelims: 
Tim Boetsch def. CB Dollaway by split decision
Hector Lombard def. Nate Marquardt by KO at 1:48, Round 1
Jessica Eye def. Sarah Kaurman by split decision
KJ Noons def. Georges Sotiropoulos by unanimous decision

Prelims on Facebook:
Adlan Amagov def. TJ Waldburger by KO at 3:45, Round 1
Tony Ferguson def. Mike Rio by submission (D’Arce choke) at 1:52, Round 1 (Submission of the Night)
Andre Fili def. Jeremy Larsen by TKO at 0:53, Round 2
Kyoji Horiguchi def. Dustin Pague by TKO at 3:51, Round 2

Main Card:
Cain Velasquez def. Junior dos Santos by TKO at 3:09, Round 5
Daniel Cormier def. Roy Nelson by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Gilbert Melendez def. Diego Sanchez by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
Gabriel Gonzaga def. Shawn Jordan by KO at 1:33, Round 1
John Dodson def. Darell Montague by KO at 4:13, Round 1

Prelims: 
Tim Boetsch def. CB Dollaway by split decision (30-26, 27-29, 30-26)
Hector Lombard def. Nate Marquardt by KO at 1:48, Round 1
Jessica Eye def. Sarah Kaurman by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
KJ Noons def. Georges Sotiropoulos by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Prelims on Facebook:
Adlan Amagov def. TJ Waldburger by KO at 3:45, Round 1
Tony Ferguson def. Mike Rio by submission (D’Arce choke) at 1:52, Round 1
Andre Fili def. Jeremy Larsen by TKO (punches) at 0:53, Round 2
Kyoji Horiguchi def. Dustin Pague by TKO (punches) at 3:51, Round 2

In the featured bout of the evening, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Demian Maia will defend his homeland of Brazil in a fight with another Jiu-Jitsu standout, American Jake Shields. The fight is being heralded as a key match-up in the UFC’s welterweight division.

In the co-main event, Brazilian standout Erick Silva will put his skills on display against dangerous Korean fighter Dong Hyun Kim.

The results for the entire card will be updated LIVE in the area below, starting at 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT.

UFC Fight Night 29
Oct. 9, 2013
Jose Correa Gymnasium
Barueri, São Paulo, Brazil

Main Card:
Jake Shields def. Demian Maia by split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)
Dong Hyun Kim def. Erick Silva by KO (punch) at 3:01, Round 2
Thiago Silva def. Matt Hamill by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-27)
Fabio Maldonado def. Joey Beltran by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Rousimar Palhares def. Mike Pierce by submission (heel hook) at 0:31, Round 1
Raphael Assunção def. TJ Dillashaw by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

Prelims:
Igor Araujo def. Ildemar Alcantara by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Yan Cabral def. David Mitchell by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Chris Cariaso def. Iliarde Santos via TKO (strikes) at 4:31, Round 2
Alan Patrick def. Garett Whiteley by TKO (strikes) at 3:54, Round 1

Photo via UFC.com / Getty Images

Jon Jones defended the UFC light heavyweight title in a razor-close, exhilarating main event against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165 in Toronto on Saturday night.

For the first time in his career, Jones was taken down by an opponent and admittedly dealt with one of the toughest fights he’s ever been involved in. The champion retained his belt with judges’ scores of 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46.

“I’ve been asking for a dogfight for a long time,” Jones said following the win, “and I finally got that dogfight I’ve been looking for.

“He was just a tough fighter … That was by far my toughest fight.”

Gustafsson came out strong, trading strikes with the champion and scored on numerous combinations. The challenger opened up a cut on Jones’ face with a glancing punch near the halfway point of the opening round, and eventually took the champ down for the first time in his career. Gustafsson and Jones went back to the corners with the challenger ahead.

At the beginning of the second round, Jones had all of his takedowns stopped. Jones continued throwing spinning kicks and other combinations, but the challenger kept moving forward and answering with punches and front kicks. The Swedish challenger Gustafsson landed several head shots, leaving Jones being more beaten up after two rounds of a fight than ever before.

In the third round, Gustafsson began to slow down and Jones remained active. Still, Gustafsson remained light on his feet and used his footwork to get within the champ’s range to land strikes. The frame was competitively even.

The fourth round gave way to Jones landing his most significant strike of the fight, a spinning elbow that rocked his foe. Gustafsson had landed two left hooks up to that point that potentially had him winning the round, but Jones’ relentless attacks after landing his elbow gave him the round back.

In the last round, Jones continued controlling the fight and landed more punches and kicks on a tired Gustafsson. The bout then went to decision with the unanimous nod for Jones.

“It was such an honor for me to fight the champ,” Gustafsson said. “He’s the champ for a reason.”

With the win, Jones breaks the record for consecutive 205-pound UFC title defense with seven. The old record of six was previously held by Tito Ortiz.

Following the night of fights, UFC President Dana White asked, “Who doesn’t want to see this rematch?” but would not commit to granting Gustafsson a second chance at Jones.

Barao spinning-back kicks his way to retaining interim title

Photo via UFC.com / Getty Images

Renan Barao successfully defended his interim UFC bantamweight title with a technical knockout of Eddie Wineland in their UFC 165 co-main event.

Barao landed a spinning-back kick that led to the TKO, giving him the win at 0:35 of the second round, setting up an eventual title-unification fight with the injured divisional champ.

“I’m just waiting for Dominick Cruz now,” Barao said after the win.

Wineland looked as though he was ahead on the scorecard after the first round, a frame that saw him trading every strike with the interim champ. The challenger constantly moved forward and set the pace of the fight until the second round, where Barao landed a kick that sent Wineland crashing to the floor.

Once on the ground, Barao swarmed on his opponent and the referee stepped in to put a stop to the contest after Wineland covered up.

The win improves Barao’s overall record to 31-1, 1 N.C. The Brazilian fighter hasn’t suffered a loss since his MMA debut in 2005.

Schaub puts Mitrione to sleep

Brendan Schaub showed that he wasn’t simply handed his Jiu-Jitsu brown belt, getting a submission win over Matt Mitrione at UFC 165.

Schaub locked on a D’Arce choke to finish his former TUF roommate, getting the finish at 4:06 of the opening round.

The two heavyweights engaged on the feet early on, until Schaub moved forward with a flurry of punches. He got the clinch on Mitrione and scored a big takedown, putting the fighter on his back.

Schuab eventually passed his opponent’s guard, but left a gap for Mitrione to attempt getting back to the feet. It was this opportunity where Schaub secured the D’Arce choke and put Mitrione to sleep for the technical submission.

With the win, Schaub improves to 10-3, while Mitrione drops to 6-3.

Carmont wins less-than-exciting decision

Francis Carmont imposed his will on Costa Philippou for three straight rounds, getting a unanimous-decision win in their UFC 165 main card fight.

Carmont scored on every takedown attempt, playing top position for nearly all 15 minutes of the fight and earning scores of 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26.

With the win, Carmont improves his record to 22-7 with six straight wins since debuting in the UFC in October 2011.

Nurmagomedov makes statement, punishes Healy for three rounds

Khabib Nurmagomedov opened up the UFC 165 pay-per-view with a dominant performance over Pat Healy on Saturday.

Nurmagomedov landed a mixture of strikes, cutting open his opponent’s face on the way to a unanimous decision with scores of 30-27 across the judges’ panel.

The 25-year-old Russian fighter went on to address the crowd and ask for a title shot, explaining that he is 21-0 and 5-0 in the UFC.

Prelim Results:

Miles Jury def. Mike Ricci by split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)

Wilson Reis def. Ivan Menjivar by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

Stephen Thompson def. Chris Clements by TKO (punches) at 1:27, Round 2

Mitch Gagnon def. Dustin Kimura by submission (guillotine choke) at 4:05, Round 1

Prelims on GRACIEMAG.com:
John Makdessi def. Renee Forte by KO (punches) at 2:01, Round 1
Michel Prazeres def. Jesse Ronson by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Alex Caceres def. Roland Delorme by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Daniel Omielanczuk def. Nandor Guelmino by KO (strikes) at 3:18, Round 3

GRACIEMAG.com will update the results of each fight on the card in the area below. Results will be updated as the fights are happening in real-time.

Be sure to watch the first four UFC prelims for FREE on GRACIEMAG.com, beginning with Nandor Guelmino vs. Daniel Omielanczuk at 6:15 p.m. ET / 3:15 p.m. PT by CLICKING HERE.

UFC 165: Jones vs. Gustafsson
Sept. 21, 2013
Air Canada Centre
Toronto

Main Card:
Jon Jones def. Alexander Gustafsson by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)
Renan Barao def. Eddie Wineland by TKO (spinning-back kick, strikes) at 0:35, Round 2
Brendan Schaub def. Matt Mitrione by submission (D’Arce choke) at 4:06, Round 1
Francis Carmont def. Costa Philippou by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Khabib Nurmagomedov def. Pat Healy by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)

Prelims:
Miles Jury def. Mike Ricci by split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
Wilson Reis def. Ivan Menjivar by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Stephen Thompson def. Chris Clements by TKO (punches) at 1:27, Round 2
Mitch Gagnon def. Dustin Kimura by submission (guillotine choke) at 4:05, Round 1

Prelims on GRACIEMAG.com:
John Makdessi def. Renee Forte by KO (punches) at 2:01, Round 1
Michel Prazeres def. Jesse Ronson by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Alex Caceres def. Roland Delorme by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Daniel Omielanczuk def. Nandor Guelmino by KO (strikes) at 3:18, Round 3 

Glover Teixeira looks down on Ryan Bader of the TKO win at UFC Fight Night 28. Photo via UFC/Getty Images.

Glover Teixeira inched even closer to contender status with his first-round technical knockout of Ryan Bader at UFC Fight Night 28 on Wednesday night in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

Teixeira recovered from some early knockdowns to come back and finish Bader via strikes at 2:55 of the opening round. Following the win, the victorious Brazilian laid out his intentions of owning the UFC 205-pound title, no matter who he has to beat in order to earn it.

“I’m telling you, this belt is going to be mine,” Teixeira exclaimed after the win. “It doesn’t matter if it’s Jon Jones [or] if it’s [Alexander] Gustafsson, it’s mine.”

Bader came out came out aggressive, throwing combinations that shook his Brazilian opponent. After grappling against the cage, the separated and Bader came forward again landing heavy punches as Teixeira covered up.

The flow of the fight made a sudden change when Teixeira countered with a right hand, followed up by a left hook that nearly knocked Bader out cold. Teixeira followed to the ground with hammer fists, and referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop the fight.

“I knew exactly what was happening and I was able to use that as an opportunity for me,” Teixeira said.

Teixeira is currently ranked No. 2 in the official UFC rankings, and will likely keep a close watch on the UFC 165 main event between champ Jon Jones and challenger Alexander Gustafsson.

With the win, UFC President Dana White announced via Twitter that Teixeira earned the Knockout of the Night bonus and an extra $50,000.

“Jacare” Souza steamrolls Okami

Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza made a huge statement in the middleweight division, finishing former No. 1 contender Yushin Okami in the first round of their UFC Fight Night co-main event.

Jacare displayed power in his right hand, knocking Okami for a loop, en route to the technical knockout at 2:47 of the opening round.

“I’ve got a very tough right hand,” Jacare said following the win.

The co-main event started out with Jacare throwing a combination of punches that staggered Okami. The Brazilian threw several more short punches that Okami covered up for before the two separated.

The punching power of the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt showed up again when Jacare landed a massive right hand that put Okami down. Souza pursued him to the ground and finished the fight with strikes from top position.

With the win, Souza improves to 2-0 since coming to the UFC from Strikeforce, improving his overall mark to 19-3. Okami drops to 29-8 overall.

Benavidez makes quick work of Formiga

Joseph Benavidez stopped Jussier “Formiga” da Silva in the first round of their main card fight at UFC Fight Night in Belo Horizonte on Wednesday night.

Benavidez finished the Brazilian by technical knockout with strikes on the ground at 3:07 of the opening frame.

“I was excited to fight here in Brazil,” he said. “The fight went how it went and I feel great about it.”

As expected the flyweights came out on a quick pace, trading strikes while standing on the feet. The two exchange punches and kicks until Benavidez landed a one-two combination, followed by a knee that sent Formiga turtling up on the ground.

After a number of strikes by Benavidez on his grounded opponent, the referee stepped in to put a stop to the fight.

The win improves Benavidez’s overall record to 19-3.

Earlier results:
Piotr Hallman def. Francisco Trinaldo by submission (kimura) at 3:50, Round 2
Rafael Natal def. Tor Troeng by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Ali Bagautinov def. Marcos Vinicius by TKO (strikes) at 3:28, Round 3

Prelims:
Kevin Souza def. Felipe Arantes by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Lucas Martins def. Ramiro Hernandez by submission (rear-nakede choke) at 1:10, Round 1
Elias Silverio def. Joao Zeferino by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Ivan Jorge def. Keith Wisniewski by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)

Prelim on GRACIEMAG.com:
Sean Spencer def. Yuri Villefort by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)

Anthony Pettis stands next to his mother after wining the lightweight title. Photo via UFC Facebook.

Anthony Pettis made it 2-0 against Benson Henderson, submitting the champion in their rematch to earn the lightweight title at UFC 164 on Saturday in Milwaukee.

Pettis found himself on his back and secured an armbar, forcing Henderson to verbally tap out and bring a stop to the main event at 4:31 of the first round.

“I’m here, man. I’m here,” Pettis said, following the finish of Henderson. “I felt his arm pop and he said ‘tap, tap, tap … The armbar is the work of Moraes Jiu-Jitsu.”

Henderson came out and worked the clinch early on, shooting in on Pettis and posting him against the fence. While there, the two traded short strikes with Henderson landing more.

Soon after the two separated, Pettis landed several mid kicks and attempted a spinning kick, but found himself in a position where he was forced to pull guard. It was at that point that Pettis secured the arm, pulled back and won the fight by armbar submission.

“Anthony’s a tough dude,” Henderson said after the loss. “[He] proved himself to be a champ.”

The win secures the 155-pound title for Pettis, in addition to his fourth win in a row for a 17-2 overall record. Henderson falls to 19-3, suffering his first loss since his original meeting against Pettis at WEC 53 in December 2010.

Josh Barnett gets the first-round win at UFC 164. Photo by Eshter Lin via MMAFighting.com.

Barnett gets through Mir in the first

Josh Barnett stopped Frank Mir with a technical knockout in the first round of their co-main event at UFC 164 on Saturday.

Barnett landed a knee that sent Mir falling to the canvas, which was almost immediately followed by the referee stepping in to stop the fight at 1:56 of the opening time frame.

“It felt great to get this win here in the UFC,” Barnett said. “It’s been a long time coming.”

The two fighters began exchanging strikes early on in the bout, clinching and landing short blows. Barnett, however, began to control Mir more in the clinch, landing uppercuts and overhand punches on his opponent.

After securing Mir against the fence, Barnett landed a perfectly placed knee and that sent his opposition crashing to the floor. The referee stopped the contest, but Mir stood up in protest, visibly upset that the fight had been stopped. But was too late at that point, as Barnett had been declared the winner.

With the win, Barnett is victorious in his first fight in the UFC since 2002 and improves his record to 33-6. In defeat, Mir drops to 16-8 and loses the third fight in a row for the first time in his career.

Mendes finishes Guida early in the third

Chad Mendes finished Clay Guida with a technical knockout in their UFC 164 main card fight on Saturday evening.

Mendes landed a flurry strikes near the beginning of the third and final round, forcing the referee to step in and put a stop to the fight at 0:30 of the last frame.

“That was my goal coming into this fight,” Mendes said of the TKO. “I want Jose Aldo.”

Mendes controlled the contest from beginning to end, landing more significant strikes than his opponent and stopping every takedown attempt Guida had until the stoppage.

The loss marks the first time Guida has suffered a TKO in his 10-year-career.

Earlier results:

• Ben Rothwell def. Brandon Vera by TKO (strikes) at 1:54, Round 3
• Dustin Poirier def. Erik Koch by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27)
• Gleison Tibau def. Jamie Varner by split decision (29-28, 27-29, 29-28)
• Tim Elliott def. Louis Gaudinot by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-27)
• Hyun Gyu Lim def. Pascal Krauss by TKO at 3:58, Round 1
• Chico Camus def. Kyung Ho Kang by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Soa Palelei def. Nikita Krylov by TKO (strikes) at 1:34, Round 3
• Al Iaquinta def. Ryan Couture by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
• Magnus Cedenblad def. Jared Hamman by submission (mounted guillotine) at 0:57, Round