UFC 153 Results: Anderson Silva Stops Stephan Bonnar In Round One

Anderson Silva did what many expected him to Saturday night, stretching his unbeaten streak inside the Octagon to sixteen straight.

Silva became the first man to finish Stephan Bonnar under the UFC banner, as he dispatched the veteran with a vicious first-round knee strike to the solar plexus and follow-up ground punches in the UFC 153 headliner on Saturday at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Bonnar (15-8) could no longer continue at just 4:40 into round one. Afterward, Silva reaffirmed his desire to remain at 185 pounds, where he has held the UFC championship for six years.

“I’m not going to fight at 205 pounds again. I fight at 185 pounds,” he said. “I only fought at [light heavyweight] to save the event and put on a show for everybody.”

Bonnar did what he could in the opening minutes. He pressed “The Spider” in the clinch with short knees, elbows and punches. Once the two separated, Silva put his own back to the cage and dared Bonnar to engage, his hands dangling below his waist, his face completely exposed. "The American Psycho" hit the mark with a few punches, though, to little effect. Later, Silva tripped his opponent and, as Bonnar turned his back to return to his feet, the Brazilian unleashed a fight-ending knee. A few standing-to-ground strikes made it official.

“I’m not the best,” he said. “I just believe that I can do things that people think are impossible.”

Former Pride Fighting Championships heavyweight titleholder Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira made a successful return to the Octagon, as he submitted Dave Herman with a second-round armbar in the co-main event. Herman (21-5) tapped out 4:31 into round two.

“I feel so happy, because this man said jiu-jitsu doesn’t work, but jiu-jitsu does work and it’s a Brazilian art,” Nogueira said. “It was a beautiful position. I’m sure that he does practice jiu-jitsu, because he knows how to defend himself.”

Nogueira (34-7-1), who had not fought since suffering a gruesome arm injury at the hands of Frank Mir at UFC 140 in December, pressed Herman in the clinch in the first round. In the second, with the American fading, Nogueira shot for a takedown, moved to mount and transitioned to the armbar. Herman defended well for a short time, but “Minotauro” would not be denied.

“I just had 16 screws and a big plate in my arm after my last fight,” Nogueira said. “I came on a plane with [UFC President] Dana White, who supported me very much. The UFC got me the best doctor, and, 10 months later, I’m here fighting for you guys.”

Glover Teixeira won his 17th consecutive fight and handed former professional boxer Fabio Maldonado a vicious beating in the process, forcing a stoppage to their light heavyweight showcase between rounds two and three.

Teixeira (19-2) clipped his fellow Brazilian with a pair of left hooks in the first round, the second of which drove him to the mat. The Pit representative followed him to the ground and smashed away with nearly 100 combined punches and elbows. Only an attempted arm-triangle choke interrupted the beating. The two men were restarted near the end of the round, and, out of nowhere, Maldonado (18-6) landed a clean left hook that briefly staggered Teixeira. It would serve as the last offense Maldonado would be able to serve up.

Teixeira moved to the ground again in round two and ultimately advanced to full mount, continuing to rain elbows and punches into Maldonado’s badly battered face. At the conclusion of the second stanza, the cageside physician deemed Maldonado had absorbed enough punishment. Afterward, Teixeira took aim at the man he was originally booked to face.

“I would like to fight Quinton Jackson,” he said. “He was talking all this crap, and I never talked bad about him. He is my idol. I loved that guy when he was coming up in Pride, but he said I was talking bad about him. I wasn’t talking bad about him; I’m just afraid of no man. Step in the ring with me. I’ll fight anyone.”

Former welterweight title contender Jon Fitch looked better than ever, as he manhandled fast-rising Brazilian prospect Erick Silva en route to a unanimous decision. All three cageside judges scored it for Fitch (24-4-1): 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.

Relentless from the opening bell, Fitch wore down Silva in the clinch and on the ground. The Team Nogueira representative blasted Fitch with a right hand in the first round and tried to submit him with a rear-naked choke in the second. The American calmly worked his way out of danger, returned to his feet and resumed his attack.

“I knew I was safe there,” Fitch said. “I’m extremely difficult to finish. Before the B.J. Penn fight [at UFC 127], I spent hundreds of hours with top black belts on my back, and I’m very comfortable there. I knew that if he wasn’t working to gain top position that he was wasting energy underneath me.”

Visibly exhausted, Silva had nothing left in the tank for the third. Fitch grounded him early and then unleashed a brutal assault, comprised heavily of punches and elbows. Silva offered nothing from the bottom and retreated to his corner visibly dejected when the bell sounded.

“I would have beaten anybody tonight,” Fitch said. “I don’t care who it was or what weight class. My family needed this win and I needed this win, so I had to do what I had to do.”

The world-ranked Phil Davis submitted the previously unbeaten Wagner Prado with a second-round anaconda choke in a featured light heavyweight tilt. Prado (8-1) was forced to throw in the figurative towel at 4:29 into round two.

Davis (10-1) dominated the Brazilian from the start. He successfully completed multiple takedowns in the first round, passed Prado's guard without much resistance and controlled the match from top position. In the second, he delivered another takedown and locked in an arm-triangle choke. Prado freed himself, but Davis caught him in the anaconda choke on the exit and finished it.

“Normally, I’m the young lion coming in,” Davis said. “I’ll tell you, it’s definitely a different feeling getting in the gym and knowing that somebody like Wagner is coming to [knock] your block off. [The anaconda choke] is one of my high-percentage moves. I didn’t even get a chance to fully lock it in, but it worked.”

Brazilian grappling savant Demian Maia submitted wrestling standout Rick Story with a first-round neck crank in a featured welterweight affair. Story (14-6), who had never before been finished, asked out of the match 2:30 into round one.

Maia (17-4) secured a takedown inside the first minute, and from there, it was all downhill for his opponent. He moved to mount, struck his way onto Story’s back and secured his hooks. Maia, a 2007 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships gold medalist, tried first for the rear-naked choke and then transitioned to the neck crank. The pressure forced blood to spew from Story’s mouth and nose an instant before he tapped out.

“I wanted very much to fight here and finish my fight,” Maia said. “I tried the rear-naked, but, with the gloves, sometimes it’s hard.”

UFC 153 quick results:

Main Card:

Anderson Silva def. Stephan Bonnar via TKO (strikes) at 4:40 of round 1

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira def. Dave Herman via submission (armbar) at 4:31 of round 2

Glover Teixeira def. Fabio Maldonado via TKO (doctor stoppage) at 5:00 of round 2

Jon Fitch def. Erick Silva via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Phil Davis def. Wagner Prado via submission (anaconda choke) at 4:29 of round 2

Demian Maia def. Rick Story via submission (neck crank) at 2:30 of round 1

Preliminary Card:

Rony Mariano Bezerra def. Sam Sicilia via TKO (punches) at 4:16 of round 2

Gleison Tibau def. Francisco Trinaldo via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Diego Brandao def. Joey Gambino via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Sergio Moraes def. Renee Forte via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:10 of round 3

Chris Camozzi def. Luiz Cane via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Cristiano Marcello def. Reza Madadi via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)