Dos Santos, Florian Victorious At UFC 131

Kenny Florian

Dos Santos, Florian victorious at UFC 131

Tonight was a rough night for former heavyweight top contender Shane Carwin.

Brazilian knockout artist Junior dos Santos met his fellow slugger in the main event of the evening and successfully utilized his superior gameplan, landing the better strikes and causing significant damage to the face of his opponent. Carwin, meanwhile, displayed his heart and desire to win throughout the fight, battling through the damage and landing several nice shots.

But he could not do enough to change the outcome, as dos Santos continuously outlanded his opponent and battered him throughout the entire 15 minutes of action. The Brazilian now has earned a title shot against recovering heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez later this Fall.

FLORIAN EDGES NUNES

In the co-main event of the evening, Kenny Florian debuted at the featherweight mark, looking to put himself in the 145 lb. title mix. The former lightweight top contender faced off against Diego Nunes and walked away with a unanimous decision victory after three hard-fought rounds.

In the first round of action, Florian utilized his stellar striking to dictate the pace of the fight, keeping his opponent on his heels. The following two rounds were more of the same, and, although Nunes may have battled for a late knockout, he could not overcome the dominance of the man nicknamed “Ken-Flo.”

Opening the pay-per-view card, Donald Cerrone faced off against Vagner Rocha at the 155 lb. mark. The former WEC lightweight top contender dominated the fight early and never looked back. Rocha looked to score takedown after takedown, but seemingly every time Cerrone stuffed it. “Cowboy” struck his way to a dominant unanimous decision victory in a bout that was extremely one-sided due to the fact Rocha could not work the fight to the floor.

Following the opening, heavyweights Jon Olav Einemo and Dave Herman pleased all those watching with an incredibly entertaining fight. The two traded shots early, but neither gained the upper hand until Einemo landed a huge knee. He followed it with a few more shots, but Herman recovered. Then, in the second frame, Herman came out looking to battle, as did his opponent. However, Einemo got tagged with with a big shot and was floored. Herman moved in for the finish and, after several more punches, was pulled away from his victim, earning the technical knockout victory.

Following Herman’s knockout, Demian Maia and Mark Munoz met in a middleweight contest, each attempting to move one step closer to a title shot against champion Anderson Silva. While Maia looked terrific on the feet throughout the opening round, Munoz came back in the second and third, out-striking his opponent to earn the unanimous decision win. The fight was hardly exhilarating, but the victory puts Munoz into the title picture of a division needing contenders.

Stay tuned to HeavyMMA.com for more UFC 131 coverage.