UFC Fight Night 68: Henderson smashes Boetsch; Rothwell submits Mitrione
Legendary bomber Dan Henderson threw a patented H-bomb at Father Time at UFC Fight Night 68 on Saturday night, delivering a scintillating 28-second knockout of Tim Boetsch.
See below for complete results of a finish-filled UFC Fight Night 68.
Dan Henderson def. Tim Boetsch via first-round KO
Dan Henderson has leveled legends with his right hand, and Tim Boetsch got to feel that power on Saturday night. Mere moments into their bout, Henderson wobbled Boetsch with a big right, and followed it up with a knee before flooring "The Barbarian" with a massive uppercut. From there, "Hendo" landed a barrage of gigantic right hands until the bout was called off at just 28 seconds into the opening stanza. Vintage violence from the living legend.
Ben Rothwell def. Matt Mitrione via first-round submission
Ben Rothwell has terrifying bear strength. After a brief period of exchanging fists with an overly confident Matt Mitrione, Rothwell choked his opponent into oblivion when the former football player tried to dive in for an ill-advised double leg. Are we sure Rothwell isn't just a well-manicured bear?
Dustin Poirier def. Yancy Medeiros via first-round TKO
Dustin Poirier continues to be one the lightweight division's foremost purveyors of violence,after absolutely laying waste to Yancy Medeiros on Saturday night. After dropping the Hawaiian twice early on, "The Diamond" crumbled Medeiros with a rib-roasting body kick and unleashed a torrent of strikes until referee John McCarthy stepped in at 2:38 of the first round. Just a wonderful display of ultraviolence.
Brian Ortega def. Thiago Tavares via third-round TKO
Brian Ortega survived the grind. "T-City" did massive damage to Thiago Tavares off his back, landing gargantuan elbows while surviving Tavares' heavy top control and consistent ground-and-pound. Late in the third round, Ortega started to light Tavares up on the feet, flooring the Brazilian with a right hand to the jaw and followed it up with an onslaught of fists until referee Dan Miragliotta stopped it at 4:10 of the final frame.
Anthony Birchak def. Joe Soto via first-round KO
Anthony Birchak had no interest in seeing a second round with Joe Soto on Saturday night and violently made sure it didn't happen. Birchak overwhelmed Soto with a vicious barrage of knees, elbows, and punches along the fence, eventually rendering the former Bellator champion unconscious with an uppercut. After lasting almost five rounds with bantamweight overlord T.J. Dillashaw, Soto only lasted 97 seconds with Birchak (reminder: MMAth is not real).
Francisco Rivera def. Alex Caceres via first-round KO
It only took Francisco Rivera 21 seconds to absolutely dismantle Alex Caceres. Rivera sent "Bruce Leeroy" careening to the canvas with a massive left hook, and after a few coffin nails, referee Dan Miragliotta mercifully stepped in to put an end to the carnage. Don't. Blink.
Shawn Jordan def. Derrick Lewis via second-round TKO
Predicting Shawn Jordan would win via TKO against Derrick Lewis was never a stretch. Predicting Jordan would nearly decapitate Lewis with a hook kick was, well, a little far-fetched (borderline ridiculous). Jordan, however, floored Lewis with an improbable hook kick, and followed it up with some vicious ground-and-pound until the bout was halted at 0:48 of the second round. So ridiculous. So awesome.
Omari Akhmedov def. Brian Ebersole via first-round TKO (knee injury)
Omari Akhmedov completely jacked up Brian Ebersole's knee early with a heavy leg kick, and although the spectacularly hirsute veteran was able to tough it out for the rest of the round, he was forced to quit on his stool between the first and second stanzas. Tough break for Ebersole, who had never lost by TKO in his near 70-fight career.
Chris Wade def. Christos Giagos via unanimous decision
Chris Wade is a much better wrestler than Christos Giagos, and that was the difference Saturday night. Wade outworked Giagos in the scrambles and on the floor, using his high-level grappling and suffocating top control to dominate long stretches en route to a unanimous decision victory. He even split Giagos's wig with a scintillating elbow in the second stanza.
Joe Proctor def. Justin Edwards via third-round guillotine choke
Joe Proctor made Octagon history Saturday night, recording the latest submission in a three-round bout in the UFC's history with a guillotine choke victory over Justin Edwards. It was a spirited (almost) 15 minute affair, with Proctor changing the tide with a late knee to the body before choking Edwards into unconsciousness with two seconds left in the third frame.
Jake Collier def. Ricardo Abreu via split-decision
Sometimes ... not often, but sometimes split-decisions seem oddly appropriate. Jake Collier did juuuuuuust enough on the feet to outpoint Ricardo Abreu on Saturday night, using high-volume and combinations to sneak past Abreu, who landed the harder, cleaner punches.
Jose Quinonez def. Leonardo Morales via first-round rear-naked choke
Leonardo Morales had nothing for Jose Quinonez on the floor. Moments into the opening round, Quinonez tossed Morales to the mat and immediately started working from side control. Quinonez eventually moved his way to Morales' back and snaked in a fight-ending rear-naked choke at 2:34 of the round.
Main Card
Dan Henderson (186) vs. Tim Boetsch (185.5)
Matt Mitrione (255) vs. Ben Rothwell (265)
Yancy Medeiros (159.5) vs. Dustin Poirier (156)
Brian Ortega (146) vs. Thiago Tavares (146)
Anthony Birchak (136) vs. Joe Soto (136)
Alex Caceres (136) vs. Francisco Rivera (136)
Prelims
Derrick Lewis (264.5) vs. Shawn Jordan (263.5)
Omari Akhmedov (171) vs. Brian Ebersole (170.5)
Christos Giagos (155.5) vs. Chris Wade (155.5)
Justin Edwards (156) vs. Joe Proctor (156)
Fight Pass Prelims
Ricardo Abreu (183) vs. Jake Collier (185.5)
Leonardo Morales (140) vs. Jose Quinonez (135)