After a shaky first round, Fabricio Werdum managed to right the ship and stop Mark Hunt in Round 2 to lift the interim heavyweight title at UFC 180 in Mexico City on Saturday night.
Werdum survived a Hunt barrage in the first round, including an overhand right and a monstrous uppercut that staggered the Brazilian. Werdum came back in the second round and landed a picture-perfect flying knee that connected flush with Hunt's left temple, knocking the New Zealander to the mat where Werdum punished him with hammer fists until referee Herb Dean stopped the fight at 2:27 in the second round.
In the crowd, injured heavyweight titlist Cain Velasquez watched intently as Hunt swung mercilessly and appeared one clean punch away from a knockout. Hunt swung with reckless abandon, not caring that he was telegraphing his punches -- nor that Werdum was connecting to Hunt's body with vicious kicks.
Hunt plodded forward to begin Round 2, until he walked into a flying knee. A followup flurry of punches on the ground eventually forced Dean to intervene.
Werdum now will face Velasquez in a unification bout when the American is fully recovered from a knee injury.
After offering respect to Velasquez, Werdum (19-5-1) said he wants their fight to happen in either Mexico City or Brazil.
Much has been made of Werdum's run to the top of the UFC's heavyweight division. Despite his world-class jiu-jitsu skills, Werdum was somewhat of a washout in his first run in the UFC during the mid-2000s. The main reason: He was essentially a one-trick pony.
Werdum has returned with a vengeance with massively improved stand-up skills and he showed that in his recent wins over Travis Brown, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Roy Nelson.
He can now count Hunt among those victims.
Gastelum taps out Ellenberger
In the biggest win of his UFC career, "The Ultimate Fighter 17" winner Kelvin Gastelum put a stop to the "Juggernaut" Jake Ellenberger (29-9).
Gastelum (11-0) showed why he's one of the brightest stars in the UFC's welterweight division by submitting Ellenberger with a rear-naked choke at 4:46 in the first round. He extended his UFC win streak to five, while Ellenberger dropped his third straight.
Gastelum outstruck Ellenberger 26-12. Ellenberger, known for his relentless style and aggression, often found himself on the perimeter, as Gastelum effectively cut off most of the Octagon.
Gastelum was effective in taking down Ellenberger, one of the UFC's best wrestlers, who until that point had only been taken down once in his career.
Ellenberger was able to escape, but Gastelum quickly switched out and got right back on Ellenberger's back. Ellenberger actually looked stunned or surprised at Gastelum's quickness in applying the rear-naked choke. Gastelum pulled back and arched himself and Ellenberger, who quickly tapped out.
A crowded welterweight division will offer Gastelum plenty of opportunities to increase his profile and climb that ladder toward current champion Johny Hendricks.
As for Ellenberger, at 29, things aren't nearly over for him, despite recent losses to Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald. He was riding a wave of momentum similar to Gastelum's at one point, but the latest loss certainly drops him far down the burgeoning welterweight division.
Lamas makes short work of Bermudez
Despite losing his title shot against Jose Aldo at UFC 169, Ricardo Lamas showed he hasn't let the defeat linger, stopping Hacran Dias in June.
Against Dennis Bermudez, however, Lamas was heading straight into a buzzsaw that had all sorts of momentum on his side.
Coming into UFC 180, Bermudez (14-4) was riding an impressive seven-fight win streak. Most were looking at Lamas (15-3) as being the final confirmation for a title shot for Bermudez.
However, the No. 4-ranked Lamas had other ideas.
Lamas and Bermudez traded strikes early, with Bermudez landing leg strikes and both content to test each other in the clinch. Bermudez seemed the more aggressive fighter -- perhaps too aggressive as he came in and Lamas caught him with a stiff left jab, dropping him to the mat. Lamas pounced quickly, locking in a guillotine for the win at 3:18 in the first round.
With the win, Lamas has taken a big step to gaining a rematch with Aldo at some point. Until then, he's hoping he'll be counting a fight of the night bonus.
"Hey, Dana," Lamas said in his postfight interview, in reference to UFC president Dana White. "Make sure that bonus is in dollars, not pesos, baby!"
Montano cuts down Heatherly
The flaming red Mohawk of Augusto Dodger Montano conjured up visions of Dan Hardy and it was easy to see some star potential in Montano.
Making his UFC debut in front of his hometown crowd, Montano offered some real Octagon presence in chopping down Chris Heatherly, who looked every part of a sacrificial lamb in the one-round affair.
Heatherly's wrestling background and relative inexperience made the strategy rather obvious and he came out aggressively taking Montano down with a single-leg takedown. But Montano's escapability and clear advantage on the feet showed through as Montano twice pinned a defenseless Heatherly against the cage with repeated strikes.
Montano buried Heatherly with a flurry of combos, then again with repeated knees until referee John McCarthy stopped the fight at 4:50 of the first round.
Montano's win was not so much a victory over a worthy opponent, but rather just an easy introduction to the greater UFC audience. There is definite marketability to Montano, now he must show he can do some damage against higher competition in the UFC's deep welterweight division.
Urbina chokes out Garcia
In a battle of redemption, UFC 180's main card started with more of a whimper than a bang with welterweights Hector Urbina and Edgar Garcia.
In a sort of slow, rolling fight, Urbina locked up a guillotine on Garcia at 3:38 in the first round.
Urbina (25-8) made his return to the UFC after being cut, looking cut and in much better shape than he was on "The Ultimate Fighter 19." Garcia (14-4), a training partner of co-main event welterweight Kevin Gastelum, looked relaxed coming out of the gate.
Neither fighter was aggressive, although Urbina connected on several solid leg kicks. Garcia threatened early with a quick take down, then took Urbina's back, attempting a rear-naked choke.
Urbina was able to escape and actually reverse on Garcia, attempting his own anaconda choke. Garcia left his neck exposed several times and while the two were against the cage, Urbina turned a front headlock into a guillotine when referee Herb Dean called a stop to the contest.
The Monterrey, Mexico, native emerged confident and redeemed.
"I knew he [Garcia] wasn't getting out of that one," Urbina said.
