UFC 184: Rousey dominates in record fashion; Holm wins in Octagon debut
Ronda Rousey defended her women's bantamweight title with a dominant armbar victory over Cat Zingano at UFC 184.
Ronda Rousey def. Cat Zingano via first-round submission
All it took was 14 seconds.
Ronda Rousey continued her run as the most terrifying woman on the planet at UFC 184 on Saturday night, retaining her women's bantamweight title with a record-breaking shellacking of Cat Zingano.
Zingano shot out of the gate as the opening horn sounded, and rushed Rousey with the hopes of landing a flying knee. The champ easily avoided the attack, tossed "Alpha" to the floor, and violently finished the fight with a nasty straight armbar.
For video of the incredible destruction, tap here.
Holly Holm def. Raquel Pennington via split-decision
It wasn't the world-altering performance of a woman who's ready to face Ronda Rousey, but Holly Holm out-pointed Raquel Pennington on the feet en route to a split-decision victory.
Although Holm seemed tight at times, she scored early and often on Pennington, shucking off takedowns while keeping "Rocky" at bay with a varied array of punches and kicks.
Pennington found some success in the final stanza, even briefly flooring Holm with a clubbing right hand. Unfortunately, she couldn't capitalize on the advantage, and Holm was able to escape the attack relatively unscathed.
Jake Ellenberger def. Josh Koscheck via second-round north-south choke
In a possible pink slip derby, Jake Ellenberger assured his continued career in the Octagon with a second round submission victory over Josh Koscheck.
"The Juggernaut" outclassed Koscheck on the feet, beating him to the punch for the better part of two rounds before stuffing a takedown and capturing The Ultimate Fighter 1 veteran in an incredibly tight north-south choke, eliciting the tap at 4:20 of the second stanza.
The victory snapped a three-fight losing streak for Ellenberger, while Koscheck has now dropped four in a row.
Tap here to see Ellenberger's fight-ending choke
Alan Jouban def. Richard Walsh via first-round TKO
If there was still anyone out there who thought elbows were just for cutting your opponent, Alan Jouban completely, and violently, destroyed that notion.
Two minutes into his bout with Richard Walsh, Jouban dented Walsh's dome with a world-destroying elbow and landed a few more punches on the stunned Australian until referee John McCarthy stopped the flurry at 2:19 of the opening round.
Yikes.
Tap here to see Jouban's skull-rattling elbow.
Tony Ferguson def. Gleison Tibau via first-round rear-naked choke
Tony Ferguson ran roughshod over Gleison Tibau in the main card curtain-jerker, cinching in a fight-ending rear-naked choke midway through the opening round.
Tibau had nothing for Ferguson on the feet, as "El Cucuy" lit up the Brazilian with pinpoint combinations, before taking the fight to the floor, securing back control and finishing the fight with a slick rear-naked choke.
Ferguson is now 8-1 in his UFC career and is riding a five fight winning-streak, while Tibau had a three-fight winning streak snapped.
Tap here to see the fight-ending submission
Roan Carneiro def. Mark Munoz via second-round rear-naked choke
Roan Carneiro made a triumphant return to the Octagon, taking less than two minutes to polish off Mark Munoz via rear-naked choke.
Carneiro, who hadn't fought in the UFC since 2008, sprawled out of a Munoz takedown and gained top control briefly before taking "The Filipino Wrecking Machine's" back and snatching the fight-ending choke.
In a terrifying display of incompetence, referee Jerin Valel let Carneiro hold the choke dangerously long, and Munoz was rendered unconscious.
Tap here to see Carneiro's utter destruction of Munoz.
Roman Salazar vs. Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto declared a no contest
Roman Salazar versus Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto ended with a whimper ... or more accurately, an inadvertent eye poke.
Midway through the second frame, Salazar, likely down a round on the scorecards, lunged at Yamamoto with a looping right hand, and as "Kid" tried to avoid the shot, he accidentally poked Salazar in the eye. It was the second time in the round that Salazar suffered an eye poke.
Referee "Big" John McCarthy gave Salazar ample time to recover, but it was clear he wasn't able to see clearly out of his left eye and the ringside doctor was forced to call off the bout.
Tim Means def. Dhiego Lima via second-round TKO
Dhiego Lima quite simply wasn't ready for Tim Means.
Means wrecked Lima in the clinch, wobbling the Brazilian with a couple vicious elbows and knees early as the beleaguered Lima struggled to keep his composure and consciousness.
"The Dirty Bird" kept up the pressure landing tight combinations before crumbling Lima with a gigantic left hand, and following it up with some coffin nails before referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop the violent onslaught.
Tap here to see the brutal finish.
Derrick Lewis def. Ruan Potts via second-round TKO
Breaking news: Derrick Lewis hits extremely hard.
Lewis absolutely destroyed Ruan Potts with clubbing punches on the feet and on the floor for the better part of two rounds until referee John McCarthy showed mercy for the battered South African, stepping in to save him from further punishment at 3:18 of the second stanza.
Potts had a few glimmers of hope in the opening frame, working for a kneebar and a few leg locks, but Lewis was able to escape and administer some vicious ground-and-pound.
Tap here to see Lewis smash Potts.
Valmir Lazaro def. James Krause via split-decision
James Krause and Valmir Lazaro staged a war of attrition for 15 minutes to close out the Fight Pass prelims, with Lazaro escaping with a split-decision victory.
Lazaro was just a step ahead of Krause on the feet, ultimately landing the cleaner, crisper, more varied strikes over the three-round affair.
The victory improved the Nova Uniao product's UFC record to 1-1 (13-3 MMA), while the loss drops Krause to 2-3 in the Octagon (21-7 MMA).
Masio Fullen def. Alex Torres via split-decision
Masio Fullen and Alex Torres had no interest in engaging in a technical striking match, and instead decided to play a violent game of Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots.
The first round was a seesaw battle, with Torres stunning Fullen several times with stinging right hands, including an absolute anvil that sent the 27-year-old Mexican wobbling backward across the cage.
Fullen cleared out the cobwebs and outworked Torres in the middle frame, while the Colombian appeared to fade as time ticked away.
With the fight likely tied at a round apiece, Fullen outworked "Rolo" on the feet, and was able to shuck off a few deep takedown attempts en route to a split-decision victory.