UFC 146: Dos Santos Knocks Out Mir, Velasquez Stops Silva
UFC 146: Dos Santos vs. Mir took place on May 26, 2012, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main card was built entirely around heavyweights and produced five finishes. Junior dos Santos stopped Frank Mir in the second round to retain the UFC heavyweight championship, Cain Velasquez overwhelmed Antônio “Bigfoot” Silva, and future champion Stipe Miocic continued his unbeaten rise.
Event video: UFC 146.
Dos Santos keeps the heavyweight championship
Dos Santos was making his first defense after knocking out Velasquez to win the title in November 2011. Mir entered with a three-fight winning streak and the division’s most accomplished submission résumé, creating a clear strategic contrast: Mir wanted opportunities on the mat, while dos Santos wanted the fight at boxing range.
The champion’s speed and footwork kept Mir from establishing a sustained grappling attack. Dos Santos hurt him late in the first round, then continued landing cleaner punches in the second. A right hand dropped Mir and follow-up punches ended the fight at 3:04 of round two.
Velasquez rebounds and the heavyweight card keeps finishing
Cain Velasquez returned from losing the title by facing UFC newcomer Antônio Silva. An early takedown and elbow opened a severe cut on Silva, and Velasquez stayed on top with relentless ground-and-pound until the fight was stopped at 3:36 of round one.
Roy Nelson needed only 51 seconds to knock out Dave Herman with an overhand right. Stipe Miocic moved to 9–0 by stopping Shane del Rosario with ground strikes at 3:14 of round two. Stefan Struve completed the all-heavyweight main card by submitting Lavar Johnson with an armbar at 1:05 of the first round.
Varner returns; Hardy ends his skid; Teixeira debuts
Jamie Varner returned to the UFC and upset Edson Barboza by first-round TKO at 3:23. Dan Hardy ended a four-fight losing streak by knocking out Duane Ludwig at 3:51 of round one. Paul Sass submitted Jacob Volkmann with a triangle armbar at 1:54, and Glover Teixeira made a dominant UFC debut by submitting Kyle Kingsbury with an arm-triangle choke at 1:53.
The post-fight bonuses reflected the night’s finish-heavy character. Hardy and Nelson received Knockout of the Night, while Sass and Struve received Submission of the Night. No Fight of the Night bonus was awarded.
Complete UFC 146 results
Main card
- Junior dos Santos def. Frank Mir — TKO (punches); round 2, 3:04. Dos Santos retained the UFC heavyweight championship.
- Cain Velasquez def. Antônio Silva — TKO (punches); round 1, 3:36.
- Roy Nelson def. Dave Herman — KO (punch); round 1, 0:51.
- Stipe Miocic def. Shane del Rosario — TKO (elbows and punches); round 2, 3:14.
- Stefan Struve def. Lavar Johnson — submission (armbar); round 1, 1:05.
Preliminary card
- Darren Elkins def. Diego Brandão — unanimous decision; round 3, 5:00.
- Jamie Varner def. Edson Barboza — TKO (punches); round 1, 3:23.
- C.B. Dollaway def. Jason “Mayhem” Miller — unanimous decision; round 3, 5:00.
- Dan Hardy def. Duane Ludwig — KO (punches); round 1, 3:51.
- Paul Sass def. Jacob Volkmann — submission (triangle armbar); round 1, 1:54.
- Glover Teixeira def. Kyle Kingsbury — submission (arm-triangle choke); round 1, 1:53.
- Mike Brown def. Daniel Pineda — unanimous decision; round 3, 5:00.
UFC 146 compressed a great deal of heavyweight history into one night: dos Santos defended the championship, Velasquez restarted his climb toward a rematch, Miocic remained unbeaten, and every main-card fight ended inside the distance. Explore more of our MMA coverage.
Sources
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UFC 146, UFC Results, MMA History, Dos Santos Knocks Out Mir, Velasquez Stops Silva
