Junior Dos Santos successfully defended his UFC Heavyweight Championship with a second round TKO of former champion Frank Mir in the main event of UFC 146. The bout took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Mir was unable to get "Cigano" to the ground and Dos Santos pummeled Mir when the two men were on their feet. In the first round, Dos Santos was able to land uppercuts, body punches and straight rights to the chin of Mir. The second round was much of the same, as Dos Santos stunned Mir and eventually ended the fight at the 3:04 mark of the second round.
In the co-main event of UFC 146, for ASU wrestling standout Cain Velasquez dominated Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva in route to a first round TKO victory. Velasquez bloodied Silva in the first round with punches and elbows to the nose of Silva. Blood poured from the nose of Silva into the heavyweight's eyes, and Velasquez took advantage, stopping Silva at the 3:36 mark of the first round.
Jamie Varner made a successful return to the UFC with a first round upset of Edson Barboza. Varner was very agressive against Barboza in the first round as he hit the Brazilian lightweight with a barrage of punches that sent Barboza staggering to the mat. Varner finished the fight with some ground and pound, with the official time of the stoppage coming at the 3:23 mark of the first round.
It was Varner's first win in the UFC since 2007 and a surprising victory over the previously undefeated Barboza.
Former Arizona State wrestler C.B. Dollaway defeated Jason "Mayhem" Miller by unanimous decision on the evening's preliminary card. The victory snaps a two-fight losing streak for Dollaway, who wrestled at ASU from 2004-2005.
UFC 146 drew a reported attendance of 14,592 for a live gate of $3.4 million. There was no "Fight of the Night," as all fights on the main card ended within the first two rounds. Two fighters were awarded "Knockout of the Night," Roy Nelson for his KO of Dave Herman 51 seconds into their fight, and Dan Hardy for his first round knockout of Duane Ludwig.
Stefan Struve and Paul Sass both picked up "Submission of the Night." Struve for his armbar of Lavar Johnson, and Sass for his triangle choke of Jacob Volkmann. Each bonus was worth $70,000.