UFC 166 Main Card Results Recap: Cain Velasquez Retains The Title In Dominant fashion

UFC 166 is in the books from the Toyota Center in Houston and Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos put on another exciting battle for the title. The fight started off fast as expected, with Dos Santos appearing to wobble Velasquez early on. Velasquez responded with two good takedowns, pushing “Cigano” up against the fence to smother Dos Santos against the cage. The champ tripped Dos Santos early in the second frame, and continued to dominate in the clinch. Velasquez landed some good hooks, but Dos Santos escaped with a quick takedown of his own. Although Velasquez won the round, Dos Santos landed a short right elbow and right cross that landed clean. Velasquez rocked Dos Santos with a huge shot in the third and sent “Cigano” stumbling, nearly finishing the fight. Velasquez looked for a choke and landed more punches. Cain continued to grind Dos Santos in the fourth round, and unleashed a fast combo against the fence. Dos Santos was a bloody mess but kept throwing elbows. Velasquez took the fight to the ground in the fifth and continued his insane pace. “Cigano” was gassed, and he turtled on the ground as Herb Dean rushed in and called off the bout.

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Daniel Cormier squared off with fan favorite Roy Nelson in the co-main event. The fight began as expected, with Cormier scoring a single leg takedown to control “Big Country” on the ground and against the cage. Nelson went for a kimura, but Cormier countered to land some knees. A big one was deemed low and earned a stoppage. On the restart, Cormier pressed forwards with some sharp combos as Nelson missed on his trademark haymakers. Cormier looked much more fleet of foot as he scored with punches and tripped Nelson. The third and final round saw Nelson have no answer for Cormier’s striking as “DC” opened up with a spinning backfist and a hard front kick. He followed that up with a big overhand right into a bodylock takedown. “Big Country” never had anything to offer Cormier, who took home the unanimous decision with his intelligent gameplan.

Number two-ranked lightweight Gilbert Melendez met the dangerous Diego Sanchez in “The Dream’s” return to 155-pounds. Sanchez started out strong by taking “El Nino’s” back, looking for a rear naked choke. Melendez answered with some good power shots. He landed an array of crisp punches, but Sanchez fought back with combos of his own. Melendez dropped “The Dream” as the round ended with a huge flurry. Melendez kept snapping right hands to Sanchez’ eye in the second, causing a break in action to examine a huge cut. Sanchez got a takedown, but Melendez continued to land precise shots at will. The third round kicked off with some awesome exchanges, as the fight became the all-out war we expected to see. Sanchez’ cut was checked again but the fight continued, and he rocked Melendez with a huge uppercut, looking for a submission on the ground. The war raged on with elbows, kicks, and punches flying at will. The bout ended an absolute wild brawl, living up to its billing in a huge way. Gilbert Melendez took home the unanimous decision.

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Heavyweight power hitters Gabriel Gonzaga and Shawn Jordan started out with a cautious boxing exchange, but it heated up very quickly. Gonzaga rocked Jordan with a huge right hook, ending the fight with some subsequent ground and pound. It was a quick and impressive win for the surging Brazilian.

Flyweight John Dodson welcomed the debuting Darrell Montague to the Octagon. The bout started out a bit slow, but Dodson soon turned it on with his trademark boxing, dropping Montague before slamming him to the fight. Montague recovered surprisingly well from the flurry, but it was not to be. Dodson landed an absolutely vicious left hand that knocked Montague out. A few totally unnecessary ground shots followed, leaving Montague to wake for a takedown attempt on the ref.

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UFC 166 Main Card Results:

Cain Velasquez def. Junior Dos Santos via R5 TKO (ref stoppage)

Daniel Cormier def. Roy Nelson via unanimous decision

Gilbert Melendez def. Diego Sanchez via unanimous decision

Gabriel Gonzaga def. Shawn Jordan via R1 TKO (punches)

John Dodson def. Darrell Montague via R1 KO (punches)

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