This is the UFC 117 live blog for Junior dos Santos vs. Roy Nelson, a heavyweight bout on tonight's pay-per-view from the Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif.

The winner between Dos Santos and Nelson will be next in line for a title shot once Cain Velasquez gets his shot against Brock Lesnar at UFC 121.

The live blog is below.

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Round 1: They touch gloves and Nelson begins walking dos Santos down with his arms up high to cover his head/mullet. Dos Santos tries that killer uppercut of his, but Nelson avoids it. Nelson tries for a single-leg and can't get it, so he settles for a clinch, where at least Dos Santos isn't hammering his face. Nelson punches his way out, then Dos Santos counters with a hard shot that staggers Nelson. Dos Santos pours it on when he sees "Big Country" in trouble. A torrent of hard punches lands. Nelson covers up against the fence, but he can't block them all. Nelson survives the onslaught and throws back a shot of his own. Dos Santos regroups and then drops Nelson against the fence. Hard to see how Nelson is weathering this, but he is. Dos Santos unleashes knees from the clinch, then targets Nelson's bellies with some punches before the round ends. MMA Fighting scores it 10-8 for dos Santos.

Round 2: Nelson comes forward with some offense of his own to start the second. Dos Santos looks to be slowing down just a tad. It's possible he spent too much energy trying in vain to put Nelson away. Dos Santos sneaks an uppercut through Nelson's defense, then follows a few moments later with more belly shots. Nelson tries again to get dos Santos to the mat, but so far he hasn't even come close. Dos Santos has a nasty looking cut under his right eye, though from what I'm not exactly sure. He shoots for a takedown of his own, oddly enough, but Nelson stuffs it. Dos Santos is starting to look a little worn, though Nelson is far from fresh as well. A superb one-two from dos Santos rocks Nelson, but he stays on his feet. Another unsuccessful takedown attempt from a bloodied Nelson to end the round. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for dos Santos.

Round 3: Dos Santos mixes things up with a body kick to start the round. Maybe his hands are sore from pounding on Nelson's rock hard head. Nelson comes back with a nice punch combo of his own, but dos Santos doesn't seem too bother by it. Another single-leg from dos Santos, and this time he puts Nelson down, at least for a moment, though he doesn't seem terribly interested in doing anything once they're there. Nelson lands a left and misses with a huge right hand haymaker as dos Santos sidesteps it with an almost disdainful look. Nelson's mouth is wide open and his sucking air. He bends over to cover up and avoid some punches from dos Santos, but this only earns him a knee to the head. Final thirty seconds, and dos Santos hurts Nelson with a left hook. Nelson is getting desperate, putting everything he has into looping right hands that keep coming up just short. The horn sounds and the two men smile and embrace. An exhausted Nelson bends over and puts his hands on his knees. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for dos Santos.

Junior dos Santos def. Roy Nelson via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)


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