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

Jason "Mayhem" Miller vs. C.B. Dollaway (James Law/HeavyMMA)

Miller-Dollaway, Branda0-Elkins among prelim highlights from 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 preliminary card for UFC 146 is one of the most stacked in recent memory, with several fights that might otherwise make the cut for a main card on a pay-per-view – if not for Saturday’s all-heavyweight lineup on the main card. Included on the prelims are fights between Jason “Mayhem” Miller and C.B. Dollaway, Dan Hardy and Duane Ludwig and Diego Brandao vs. Darren Elkins.

The live prelims blog starts at 6:45 p.m. Eastern on Saturday. The night’s first three fights stream live at the UFC’s Facebook page. At 8 p.m., the FX cable network airs a live four-fight prelims special. And the pay-per-view starts at 10 p.m. Eastern.

Mike Brown vs. Daniel Pineda
Round 1: Bruce Buffer enters the cage to get UFC 146 started with this featherweight contest. Touch of gloves from the featherweights. Brown circles on the outside, missing with an axe kick. 30 seconds in, and Pineda lands a straight right. Superman punch misses for him, as does a kick, and he trips to the mat. Brown lunges forward, but Pineda is up. Fighters exchange. Brown lands the bigger shots until Pineda lands a big knee. Brown presses back with a takedown attempt. He rushes Pineda across the cage and down to the mat. Ground and pound for Brown, but Pineda manages to reverse him. Brown, off his back, looks to isolate an arm. He reaches for a leg lock, and Pineda tries to escape. The attempt leads them back to the feet. Good back-and-forth action so far. Fighters throwing, but both defending well. 60 seconds to go in the frame. Pineda looks for the takedown, but Brown simply outmuscles him, throwing him down with a reversal. Brown on top with 30 seconds to go. Ground and pound, and he is not giving this position away as he did before. Pineda tries to escape, and manages to work back up to the feet as the bell rings. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Brown.

Round 2: Yves Lavigne gets round two started, and Pineda comes rushing forward, throwing heavy strikes. Brown up against the cage, but avoiding most of the damaging shots. Pineda looks takedown and gets it, but Brown rolls, giving up his back, to grab a leg, forcing Pineda to stand. Pineda tries to escape, but gets slammed into the canvas. Brown gets on top, Pineda tries to roll under. Brown defends and finishes in North-South. Pineda with the reversal, flipping Brown over. They scramble back to their feet. Terrific back-and-forth again. Brown presses forward, pushing Pineda up against the cage. He is throwing nice shots here and quickly begins unloading. Pineda covers up at first, but finally throws back to break out of the corner Brown had him in. Kick from Pineda glances of his opponent, but he misses completely with a spinning back fist. Brown slips, but recovers, catching his attacking opponent. Pineda goes down, and Brown takes top position, throwing heavy from guard. Big elbow lands for Brown, and Pineda is looking to roll for an arm. Brown avoids and continues to score from the top, an dthe round comes to a close. Brown’s face is bloodied up, but he did enough to take it. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Brown.

Round 3: Pineda throwing early in the final frame, but Brown is staying out of range. Brown shoots in for a takedown and the pair are back to the mat. Brown on top in half guard. He is smothering Pineda, landing strikes consistently, but focused on maintaining position. Pineda gains full guard, but the round is half-expired. Brown continues to strike, regaining half guard in the process. Pineda looks to roll and reverses to gain back mount. Huge turning point in the round for Pineda. He has a body lock on Brown and just 60 seconds to work. Strikes from the back have Brown rolling, attempting to escape. Pineda has him locked in the position, but is running short on time. 20 seconds, and Pineda continues to throw strikes, trying to soften up his opponent. Brown taking a lot of shots, but he survives the round, as Pineda does not look for the choke. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Pineda.

Official Decision: Brown def. Pineda via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Kyle Kingsbury vs. Glover Teixeira
Round 1: Touch of gloves, and Teixeira comes out swinging and landing. Kingsbury lands a knee, but takes a pair of combos from Teixeira just after. Kingsbury with a takedown attempt. Teixeira stuffs it and pounds away from top position. He transitions to the back, continuing with his ground and pound. Now to mount, and Kingsbury is in trouble. Big strikes from Teixeira. Kingsbury gives up his back, then rolls back to give up mount. He attempts to roll again, but Teixeira pushes him back down. He looks for the arm triangle. Kingsbury taps. Incredible performance from Teixeira in his UFC debut.

Official Decision: Teixeira def. Kingsbury via submission (arm triangle choke) at 1:53 of Round 1

Jacob Volkmann vs. Paul Sass
Round 1: Leg kick from Volkmann opens up the action, while a body kick lands for him shortly after. The two tie up, and Sass is content to pull guard. Volkmann appears to have a choke, grabbing hold to a guillotine with one arm. Sass pulls his head out, but still has Volkmann on top of him. Sass is looking for a choke or lock, and he grabs hold of a triangle choke. He has it, and Volkmann immediately taps to the triangle armbar submission. Terrific technique from the Brit.

Official Decision: Sass def. Volkmann via submission (triangle armbar)1:54 of Round 1

Dan Hardy vs. Duane Ludwig
Round 1: Both fighters timid at the start, respecting the power of one another. Ludwig misses with a big head kick. Hardy looks to close the distance, and Ludwig counters with a nice combination. Hardy got tagged there, but he recovers by clinching with his opponent. The Brit has Ludwig up against the cage. Hardy separates with a vicious combination, including a nice punch and flashy elbow. Back to striking, Hardy throws a jab, while Ludwig lands a leg kick. Ludwig again looks top shelf with a head kick, but can’t find a home for it. Nice punch for Hardy, who closes the distance again, but takes a big knee while in the clinch. He has Ludwig up against the cage and separates again with an elbow, but this time he misses. Hardy comes back in with a big punch, but Ludwig avoids any damage. Back to standing again. Hardy with a vicious left. Lead left hook drops Ludwig. Hardy throws his hands up in victory, but Ludwig isn’t done yet. Hardy follows down with several strikes to his downed opponent. This fight is over. The Brit is back with a vicious knockout win. The heavyweights have some competition for Knockout of the Night.

Official Decision: Hardy def. Ludwig via knockout at 3:51 of Round 1

Jason Miller vs. C.B. Dollaway
Round 1: Miller switching stances earlier, playfully (or perhaps not-so-playfully) showboating in the center of the cage. Fighters trade, which leads to a clinch. Miller grabs a guillotine choke, but Dollaway powers through it. He moves to Miller’s back, but “Mayhem” is working his way up. They separate, but Miller is looking to land. Dollaway counters with a shot, and Miller falls to the mat, though it did not appear as if he was seriously hurt. Dollaway follows Miller down. Not much action, just Dollaway smothering “Mayhem.” Miller back up as the round closes. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Dollaway.

Round 2: Round 2: Miller misses on a left hook. Dollaway with a nice jab. “Mayhem” misses with a pair of big hooks and nearly gets taken down, but he does well to counter the takedown attempt. Back standing, Miller lands a very nice shot, and Dollaway is rocked. Miller chasing him down, but Dollaway regains control and gets ahold of his opponent. He is on top of “Mayhem,” but Miller is working his way back up. Miller works his way to North-South position, but Dollaway stands him up to work on another takedown. Miller looks guillotine choke. He may have it, but Dollaway takes top position. Miller lets the choke go. Two minutes to go in the round. Dollaway throwing down hammerfists from the top, while Miller struggles from the bottom. Miller is avoiding damage, but he is doing little to escape from the position. Dollaway gets pushed away for a moment, but closes the gap quickly, finishing the round on top. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Dollaway.

Round 3: Round 3: Miller looks to get back on track in the final round, but Dollaway almost immediately puts him on his back. One minute into the round, and Dollaway is just smothering Miller, not allowing him to escape at all. Miller gives up his back and attempts to roll, but Dollaway stays on top, electing not to put his hooks in. Now he’s trying to get them in. “Mayhem” tries to reverse, but Dollaway, again, avoids the transition. Midpoint of the final round, and Miller needs a miracle at this point. He gets back to his feet for a moment, but Dollaway slams him back to the canvas. Two minutes to go, and Dollaway moves to back mount. He is throwing bombs down on Miller. 90 seconds to go, and Dollaway continues to soften up his opponent. Miller seems very frustrated from the bottom, scoffing at the shots from Dollaway, who moves to full mount in the waning moments. Dollaway with a few final shots, and this fight is over. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Dollaway.

Official Decision: Dollaway def. Miller via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-26, 29-28)

Edson Barboza vs. Jamie Varner
Round 1: Touch of gloves to kick this fight off. Barboza fakes a front kick, but scores a leg kick, followed by another. Inside leg kick lands for Barboza. And an outside leg kick. Barboza with a head kick, but Varner ducks and takes the fight down. Great start from Barboza ruined by a costly head kick. Varner, in half guard, is content to stay right on top, but Barboza escapes after only eating a few shots on the ground. The Brazilian immediately gets back to leg kicks, landing a pair. Cheers for Barboza ring through the arena, but Varner fires a right. Body shot from Varner, followed by a hook upstairs. Barboza lands another leg kick, but Varner fires back with a vicious combination. Barboza is hurt. He is pounding away on Barboza, who attempts to stagger away. Varner landing from on top. Barboza is not defending. This fight is over. Varner with the underdog victory. Incredible stuff from the former WEC title-holder.

Official Decision: Varner def. Barboza via technical knockout at 2:23 of Round 1

Diego Brandao vs. Darren Elkins
Round 1: Brandao with big shots early, including a superman punch. Elkins wants this fight down, and looks for the takedown. Brandao defends nicely, but Elkins finally trips Brandao down up against the cage. Kimura from Brandao allows him to flip the fight over. Brandao in top position, but Elkins defends nicely and gets back up. They are striking again. Brandao with a strike, but Elkins with one of his own. Flying knee from Brandao floors Elkins. He is on top in side control, while Elkins looks to recover. Elkins pushes Brandao away and gets back up. Kick from Elkins, but Brandao lands heavy with his strikes. Elkins drops, but quickly recovers. Brandao jumps into guard, but moves to side control. Elkins tries to roll, forcing Brandao up. He comes back in with a big punch that lands. Brandao landing heavy from his opponent’s guard. Elkins attempts to escape, and Brandao stands back up. He re-enters guard with another big punch. Elkins survives the round, but certainly doesn’t win it. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Elkins.

Round 2: Touch of gloves to start round two. Elkins reaches out with a straight right, but he’s too far away. He misses shortly after with a combination. Brandao misses with his first few punches, but lands a nice knee. Nice right lands for Elkins. Brandao lands an elbow, but Elkins comes back with a combination. Nice right from Elkins. Brandao slips on an axe kick, and Elkins takes top position. Brandao has guard and needs to look for a submission here, as Elkins works his ground and pound. Elkins postures up to strike, nearly losing position, but he regains it. Elbow lands for Brandao, but Elkins lands one of his own. Elkins moves to half guard with just over one minute remaining in the round. Full mount for Elkins with 60 seconds to go. Brandao tries to escape, but Elkins is pounding away. Big shots from Elkins. Brandao rolls and gets space, but he’s hurt. Elkins regains position to secure half guard. Brandao survives, but Elkins finishes strong with some ground and pound. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Elkins.

Round 3: Final round of the fight, and Brandao looks to engage. He lands, but Elkins counters nicely. Nice quick punches from Elkins before quickly evading his opponent’s counter. Takedown from Elkins. He has it. Brandao has guard, but Elkins is earning points. Elkins moves to half guard, landing elbows. Brandao regains full guard, but Elkins is not letting up. Big punches for Elkins here, who moves over to half guard. Elkins punches his opponent a few more times before moving to full mount. Brandao attempts to buck his opponent, and Elkins is forced into half guard. Still, Brandao is eating shots. Elkins looks for a guillotine choke from half guard, looking for mount. Brandao defends nicely and is back to his feet. One minute to go, and Brandao gets back to his feet. He has a takedown now and lands just misses a big shot. Brandao with little time to work. Elkins defending nicely. 10 seconds to go and Brandao lands a big right hand, but it comes to late. Heavy.com scores the fight 10-9 for Elkins.

Official Decision: Elkins def. Brandao via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)