UFC 146: Dos Santos vs. Mir Main Card Live Blog

Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva (James Law/HeavyMMA)

All-heavyweight main card goes down at MGM Grand in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS – The UFC’s return to Las Vegas is ready to roll with UFC 146: Dos Santos vs. Mir. HeavyMMA is on the scene at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and will have continued coverage of the pay-per-view event, including live round-by-round and fight-by-fight coverage.

The main card for UFC 146 is the first all-heavyweight lineup in UFC history with five bouts with big men. Leading the charge is the first heavyweight title defense of Junior dos Santos, who takes on former champ Frank Mir. And former champion Cain Velasquez returns for the first time since losing his belt and meets Antonio Silva.

The live main card blog starts at 10 p.m. Eastern on Saturday on pay-per-view.

Stefan Struve vs. Lavar Johnson
Round 1: Johnson presses forward with a body shot and an uppercut. Clinch up against the cage now. Johnson pressing Struve up against the fence. Struve pulls guard because he has an arm trapped. Armbar attempt from Struve. He locks it on, and Johnson is forced to tap. Amazing technique from Struve, and it appears as if Johnson’s arm is broken.

Official Decision: Struve def. Johnson via submission (armbar) at 1:05 of Round 1

Stipe Miocic vs. Shane del Rosario
Round 1: Touch of gloves to start the fight. Del Rosario immediatel throws a kick, followed by another leg kick. He finally lands one, but it seems to have landed to his opponent’s groin. Miocic says he is fine, and Del Rosario lands a body kick. He lunges forward with a combination. Miocic with a nice combination. Del Rosario certainl seems more desperate to strike, while Miocic is reserved, ready to attack. Nice kick from Del Rosario. And another, but Miocic nearly catches it. Miocic with a jab, but Rosario with a plethora of kicks to the body. He lands yet another. Miocic closes the distance, but Del Rosario lands another body kick, followed by a head kick. Miocic survives nicely. Del Rosario seems very confident right now, especially in contrast to how he began the fight. He misses with a head kick. Miocic comes forward with strikes, but all of his shots are blocked. Del Rosario with a shot to the body. Del Rosario lands a nice shot as a counter to Miocic. Miocic falls backwards, but avoids a head kick and other strikes. Del Rosario lands a nice left hand, and Miocic clinches with him, pressing the Strikeforce veteran against the cage. They separate, and Miocic lands a jab, but Del Rosario comes back with a combination. Del Rosario with a head kick, but Miocic lands a takedown. He lands some ground and pound, but lets Del Rosario up. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Del Rosario.

Round 2: The second frame underway, and Del Rosario blasts off a couple of leg kicks. Miocic forward with a long jab. He lands a straight right to the body, followed by a left hook. Takedown from Miocic. He has it and lands a big punch to his grounded opponent. Miocic looking for mount, but he is caught in half guard. Big trouble for Del Rosario. Miocic stands up, but comes back down with hammer fists. He is back in half guard and is going to take mount. He is not able to, but Miocic instead elects to ground and pound. Del Rosario is in trouble and bleeding. Miocic moves to mount, but Del Rosario regains half guard. Elbows from Miocic. This fight is over. Miocic earns the technical knockout victory with vicious elbows.

Official Decision: Miocic def. Del Rosario via technical knockout at 3:14 of Round 2

Roy Nelson vs. Dave Herman
Round 1: Touch of gloves. Leg kicks from Herman early. Front kick follows. And another. Herman seems to want to keep the distance early. He throws a knee, while Nelson misses with a right. Huge right hand lands for Nelson. “Big Country” lands one more, but this fight is over. Huge overhand right from Nelson floored Herman, and the official quickly moved in to save Herman from further damage.

Official Decision: Nelson def. Herman via knockout at 0:51 of Round 1

Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva
Round 1: Leg kick from Silva, and Velasquez immediately takes him down. Big strikes from Velasquez from the top. Silva lands an upkick, but Velasquez doesn’t seem to mind it. Velasquez in half guard now, and someone is bleeding. It’s Silva, courtesy of a Velasquez elbow. More elbows from Velasquez, and Silva’s face is messy. Blood paints the canvas. Break in action for the doctor to have a look. This may be stopped, but likely will continue. Silva says he can see, and this fight will continue from the position they were in pre-break. Velasquez immediately gets to work, landing heavy. Silva struggles, but is gushing blood. Velasquez pouring on the pressure, only to find Silva fighting to hang on. Incredible heart from Silva. Velasquez postures up in full guard, pouring on the strikes. Silva turns, and this fight is over. Vicious performance from Velasquez, while Silva showed ridiculous heart.

Official Decision: Velasquez def. Silva via technical knockout at 3:36 of Round 1

Junior dos Santos vs. Frank Mir
Round 1: No touch of gloves to start this championship bout. Mir immediately looks for the takedown. He grabs a leg and falls to his back, but dos Santos pulls away. Back to the feet now. Inside leg kick from Mir, but he misses on a head kick. Dos Santos fails to land on a hook. He lands a left, but Mir comes forward. The challenger is looking for the takedown, but lands a leg kick instead. And another. He misses on a body kick, while dos Santos misses on a body punch. Really not much happening here, but Mir lands another kick. The champ with a counter. Another leg kick lands for Mir, and dos Santos lands another counter. Another leg kick lands for Mir, and he avoids damage from the champ. Nice straigh tleft lands for Mir. Dos Santos lands a huge shot to the body, but Mir seems fine. Dos Santos with a right that lands. He comes in looking for the finish, and Mir falls to the floor. Dos Santos backs off, and Mir stands back up to hear the bell ring. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for dos Santos.

Round 2: Touch of gloves to start round two. Dos Santos comes in with a straight right. Mir avoids. Dos Santos with another strike, and Mir falls to his back. Dos Santos calls him back up. Mir lands a left hand, followed by a side kick. He closes the distance with a hook, and dos Santos appears to have poked Mir in the eye. No pause in action from the referee. Body shots land for dos Santos. Mir with an inside leg kick, followed by an outside leg kick. Inside leg kick shortly after. Body shot from Mir. Dos Santos lands a big shot, and Mir falls back to the canvas. Dos Santos comes in with big shots to his downed opponent. Mir turns, and dos Santos backs up. The champion comes back in, and referee Herb Dean calls the fight. Dominance from dos Santos. His mad power earns him his first title defense.

Official Decision: Dos Santos def. Mir via technical knockout at 3:04 of Round 2