Saturday’s Ultimate Fighting Championship event saw the crowning of a new heavyweight champ in Cain Velasquez, and the emergence of a #1 welterweight contender in Jake Shields.
The Anaheim, California event was held at the Honda Center and saw a reported total of 14,856 fans through the doors, bringing in a live gate of $2.15 million.
Those fans got to watch the performances of Diego Sanchez, Paulo Thiago, Velasquez, and Daniel Roberts who all walked away with $70,000 “Fight Night” bonuses.
“Fight of the Night” went to Diego Sanchez and Paulo Thiago for their three round battle. Sanchez appeared to have returned to from at 170 after faltering to John Hathaway in his last fight. “Nightmare” survived a first round mainly dominated by Thiago, and would go on to score decisive takedowns in the next two to earn a unanimous decision.
The “Knockout of the Night” went to the new UFC heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez, who pummeled former Champ Brock Lesnar in their fight. Lesnar came out strong in the opening moments rushing Velasquez for a takedown, but was unable to match Cain’s boxing skills and found himself on the bottom of a ground-and-pound. The bout was stopped at 4:12 of the first round when the referee stepped in to end the fight.
Lastly, the “Submission of the Night” went to Daniel Roberts who faced another UFC sophomore, Mike Guymon, on the unaired preliminary card. Roberts was able to quickly secure a standing modified anaconda choke, bringing Guymon to the mat. As both men twisted and turned for position, Roberts was able to lock the anaconda choke in forcing the tap at 1:13 of the first.