One of the future stars of the UFC's heavyweight division stayed undefeated Saturday night at UFC 104, as Cain Velasquez dominated Ben Rothwell with a second-round TKO.
Velasquez started the fight with a couple of body kicks, while Rothwell went for some punches. Velasquez then went inside for a single-leg takedown, getting Rothwell to the ground, and as a former NCAA All-American wrestler, that's where he wanted the fight to be.
Rothwell got the fight back to his feet for a while, but Velasquez landed another takedown and got Rothwell into side control, where he started landing elbows. Rothwell managed to get back up to his feet, but Velasquez took him down once again and badly damaged him with punch after punch and elbow after elbow. It was amazing that Rothwell made it out of the first round.
The second round started with Rothwell trying a high kick that missed, and Velasquez landing a punch and then another takedown. Velasquez got Rothwell's back and landed a series of strikes, and when Rothwell tried to get up, Velasquez punched him several more times, leading referee Steve Mazzagatti to stop the fight less than a minute into the round.
Both Rothwell and UFC announcer Joe Rogan thought the stoppage was premature, but I think it was justified: Velasquez was dominating the fight, and letting it go any longer could have exposed Rothwell to serious injury. Even Velasquez, who's usually highly critical of his own performances, acknowledged afterward that he was pleased with how he had fought.
Velasquez improves to 7-0. Rothwell falls to 30-7.
For more on the UFC 104 fight card, follow our UFC Twitter updates and UFC 104 results.
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