UFC Fight Night: Chael Sonnen Takes Out Mauricio Rua In First Round

Chael Sonnen forced Mauricio Rua to submit during the first round of their fight in the UFC light heavyweight matchup.

Rua, the former UFC lightweight champion, held his own for most of the opening frame. However, after Sonnen immobilized him in a guillotine choke towards the end of the first round, Rua found himself in trouble. Unable to escape, he was forced to tap out just 4:47 minutes into the match.

Sonnen put his capabilities on display early on in the round, quickly earning a takedown. Rua evened it up not long after, but Sonnen remained composed against the reigning champ. His measured dominance in the match’s early minutes culminated with the game-ending guillotine maneuver.

Immediately following the victory, Sonnen dedicated it to his grandmother who overcame a grim cancer diagnosis. Then he proceeded to launch into his customary arrogant spiel about his superiority in the ring. He even gave an impromptu poem, in which he put himself at the center. Sonnen also gave a special shout out to his foremost Brazilian rival Wanderlei Silva.

"Right here on the UFC's new home, FOX Sports 1, Wanderlei Silva, 6 feet tall and 205 pounds," Sonnen said of his fellow Brazilian wrestler. "Boy, until I met you, I didn't know they could stack crap that high." Sonnen also challenged Silva to a fight in three months time.

Aside from the title game, five other matches ended in the first found – Travis Browne defeated Alistair Overeem via KO, Matt Brown beat Mike Pyle via KO, Steven Siler knocked out Mike Brown, Ovince St. Preux defeated Cody Donovan via KO and James Vick beat Ramsey Jijem via submission.

Michael McDonald beat Brad Pickett in the second round of their fight.

After three rounds of fighting, the judges ruled that Urijah Faber beat Yuri Alcantara, John Howard beat Uriah Hall, Michael Johnson beat Joe Lauzon, Conor McGregor beat Max Holloway, Diego Brandao beat Daniel Pineda and Manny Gamburyan beat Cole Miller.

– Chelsea Regan

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