UFC 169 results: Abel Trujillo has early KO of the Year candidate over Jamie Varner

One punch. As technical and complex as mixed martial arts can be, sometimes it still comes down to the right shot landing on the right spot at the right time.

That was the case for Abel Trujillo on Saturday night, as he finished off a thrilling slugfest against Jamie Varner at UFC 169 with a brutal right hand to the jaw and an early candidate for Knockout of the Year.

After the entire undercard at Newark's Prudential Center went to decisions, Varner and Trujillo woke the crowd up in the first round of their lightweight showdown. After standing and trading awhile, Varner got Trujillo to the mat and locked in a tight North-South choke. Trujillo managed to escape it, and get back to his feet, and the two had another exciting exhange on their feet as the round ended.

In the second, Varner, the former WEC lightweight champ, turned up the heat and started winging punches at Trujillo, frequently connecting. As the heat turned up, Trujillo kept his cool, and when Varner started getting sloppy, Trujillo landed a picture-perfect right hand to the jaw, sending Varner face-first to the mat.

Referee Dan Miragliotta stopped the bout at 2:32 of the round.

"I was hurt like a mother right there. I ain't gonna lie," the Blackzilian said of the portion of the fight in which he was in danger. "I'm a killer, and you gotta kill me."

Trujillo improved to 12-5 (1 NC) with his second straight win. Varner (21-9-1, 2 NC), who took the bout when Bobby Green had to drop out, has lost three of four.