UFC 131 live results: Junior Dos Santos defeats Shane Carwin by unanimous decision
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In a heavyweight title qualifying bout, heavy hitting Shane Carwin and Junior Dos Santos squared off in the main event of UFC 131 in Vancouver, Canada.
First round: Dos Santos bloodied Carwin in the final minute of the first round by exposing Carwin’s inability to stop a jab. That jab set up a powerful right-left combination by Dos Santos that dropped Carwin to the mat, and allowed Dos Santos to unleash a flurry of rights and a wicked barrage of lefts to the head of Carwin that left the former title challenger a bloody mess.
Dos Santos looked to referee Herb Dean to stop the fight, but Dean declined in the final 15 seconds.
Second round: Carwin waved at Dos Santos before the second round, but the clearly fresher Brazilian went back to work with the jabs. Carwin sneaked in some shots around the two-minute mark. Dos Santos started the final minute with a hard left kick to the head. Dos Santos’ jabs set up a hard body shot in the round’s closing seconds.
Dos Santos’ corner told him between rounds to keep controlling the fight, relying on the jab. Carwin had a bad gash under his right eye and on his nose.
Third round: Carwin opened the round by going for a takedown. Dos Santos was back on his feet, jabbing. Carwin’s attempts to press the action led him to eat more jabs. At the 1:20 mark, referee Dean asked a ringside doctor to inspect Carwin and inquire if he could see. His peripheral vision was deemed OK.
Dos Santos then took down Carwin, pouncing to land a right. Dos Santos produced one more takedown at the final bell.
The judges rewarded Dos Santos with a unanimous 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26 victory that will earn him a shot at heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez in November or December.
Earlier, Boston’s Kenny Florian became the first UFC fighter to participate in a fourth weight class by taking on Diego Nunes in a featherweight (145 pounds) bout. Florian has fought as high as 185 pounds.
First round: Against the 28-year-old Nunes, Florian scored an impressive takedown in the opening round after Nunes freely delivered kicks. A hard left to the jaw by Nunes in the final 10 seconds dropped Florian and he sustained another blow to the face on the canvas. Second round: Brazil’s Nunes displayed the benefits of youth to withstand a leg grab by the 35-year-old Florian in the second. The savvy Florian picked off a few jabs, took the youth to the cage to get atop Nunes, who was cut behind the head from a previous Florian elbow. Florian landed a few hard shots atop Nunes to close the round, as a fatigued Nunes walked slowly to his corner.
Third round: Florian mounted Nunes again in the third, outworking the younger man. Nunes couldn’t land some kick tries. A late Nunes right dropped Florian to a knee in the final seconds.
The judges gave Florian (16-5) a unanimous decision, 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27.
‘I started at above 180 pounds, that was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life,’ Florian said in the octagon afterward.
Middleweights Mark Munoz of Vallejo and former title challenger Demian Maia of Brazil squared off in the third bout of the night.
First round: They kept their fight upright early, with Maia scoring twice impressively with a left and combination. Maia added a hard left and a clean left kick, with Munoz retreating. A right hand backed Munoz to the cage.
Second round: Munoz hurt Maia to start the round with a thundering right-left combination that sent Maia to the canvas and left him open to a barrage of body shots to both sides. When they got up, Munoz landed a good left. A lull in the action as Munoz presses Maia to the cage.
Third round: Munoz continues to be the aggressor in the third, pushing Maia down. Maia tried to exhibit his jiu-jitsu expertise as they leaned against the cage, but Munoz escaped. In the final 90 seconds, Munoz was more aggressive but neither landed a decisive blow
The judges award Munoz (11-2) a unanimous decision 29-28, 29-28, 30-27.
Temecula heavyweight Dave Herman (20-2) was matched against Norway’s John-Olav Einemo in the second pay-per-view bout.
First round: The bigger man from Oslo got atop Herman more than halfway through the first round. Herman recovered, and the pair exchanged knees in the final minute. Einemo’s power led to another late takedown.
Second round: Einemo unleashed a hard right to open the round, and buried two hard knees to Herman’s head looking to finish the fight, but Herman suddenly dropped Einemo with a right knee and right punch that forced Einemo into survival mode as he endured some hard right elbows on the mat. Herman lands another right, and two hard knees to the head. Herman, bleeding from the nose, dropped Einemo again with a combination of punches and then unleashed more right-handed blows on the mat as the referee stepped in to stop the fight.
Dave Herman (21-2) with an impressive gut-check triumph by technical knockout at the 3:19 mark. Einemo is now 7-2.
The card opened with a lightweight battle between Donald Cerrone and Vagner Rocha.
First round: Cerrone’s kicking skill carried the first round, as he repeatedly hammered Rocha’s calves with right kicks. He dropped Rocha with one of the kicks. When Rocha tried his own, Cerrone held him and dropped Rocha to the mat again.
Second round: Rocha’s left side further weakened in the second as Cerrone kept kicking. He tried to bring Cerrone to the ground to no avail. Cerrone was encouraged by trainer Greg Jackson to go for the kill between rounds.
Third round: Rocha’s attempts to wrestle Cerrone proved futile and his energy clearly diminished. A left kick by Cerrone dropped Rocha.A good punching combination by Cerrone hurt in the final minute. A hard left punch dropped Rocha in the final 10 seconds.
An easy unanimous decision -- 30-27, 30-27, 30-26 -- was confirmed by the judges, as Cerrone improves to 15-3, and Rocha drops to 6-2.
--Lance Pugmire