UFC 200 blog: Lesnar steals show with win after 5 years off

By Case Keefer (contact)

Published Saturday, July 9, 2016 | 7 p.m.

Updated Saturday, July 9, 2016 | 10:48 p.m.

Brock Lesnar dropped his perpetual scowl for a moment to crack a fleeting smile as he leaned in to kiss his wife in the gold-painted octagon Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.

Not even someone as intimidating as the 6-foot-3, 290-pound former heavyweight champion could deny the bliss of victory at UFC 200. Lesnar returned from a nearly five-year layoff from the UFC to win his first fight since July 2010.

Lesnar used his strength to control Mark Hunt in the night’s co-main event, winning an upset unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

“It took me a little while to get after him,” Lesnar said. “Words can’t describe it. Thanks everyone; thank you so much.”

Both of the UFC’s milestone century pay-per-view events have belonged to the professional wrestler who became a crossover star in mixed martial arts. The biggest difference was in his temperament afterward.

Whereas Lesnar went on an incendiary rant after knocking out Frank Mir at UFC 100, he was more caught in the moment after taking down Hunt multiple times to win the decision years later.

Lesnar declined to say whether he would pursue fighting any more in the UFC, and instead issued a plea.

“Shout-out to the men and women in uniform that protect this country, from sea to shining sea, from one white boy to all nationalities,” Lesnar said. “We’ve got to stand together, people.”

Lesnar’s always taken pride in his American wrestling roots, much like the man who picked up a victory right before him. Light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier had an even easier time taking down Anderson Silva, securing a unanimous decision victory (30-26, 30-26, 30-26).

Unlike with Lesnar, the crowd booed Cormier’s wrestling approach. But he was unapologetic, citing his strategy as a necessity going up against a fighter as dangerous and accomplished as Silva on two days' notice.

“It’s a dangerous time anytime you face Anderson,” Cormier said. “This is a big accomplishment for me. I appreciate the UFC for getting me this fight.”

Cormier was slated to fight in the main event until positive results from an out-of-competition drug test came back for Jon Jones early this week. The scrapping of their title fight meant only one belt was at risk at UFC 200.

And it changed hands. Amanda Nunes swarmed Miesha Tate, knocking the local down with strikes before finishing her with a rear-naked choke at 3:16 of the third round.

Nunes had the most dominant performance of the night, with Tate hardly landing a strike.

“Ten years of my life working hard for this moment and now I feel amazing,” Nunes said.

Nunes joined Jose Aldo as Brazilians who were crowned Saturday night. Aldo beat Frankie Edgar by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47) in an interim featherweight championship bout.

Aldo immediately went up to rival and featherweight champion Conor McGregor, who was sitting ringside, and called him out for a rematch. Another former champion, heavyweight Cain Velasquez, shone in the pay-per-view opener.

Velasquez knocked out Travis Browne with three seconds to spare in the first round. It was reminiscent of when Velasquez did the same to Lesnar to take the title off of him in 2010.

That was the furthest thing from Lesnar’s mind on this night, though. For once, he was overjoyed.

“I want to take it one day at a time,” Lesnar said. “I’m so happy to be here.”

Check below for live round by round coverage of the main card and full results from the preliminary card and come back later for more coverage of UFC 200.

The UFC may have spent more time promoting UFC 200 than any other card it’s ever presented.

The locally based mixed martial arts promotion announced the event a year ago, started hyping it immediately and began booking matchups four months ago. The long build-up gave UFC 200 a telescopic quality: It was close enough to see but too far away to comprehend.

That all ends tonight at T-Mobile Arena. The fights can commence. UFC 200 is here.

And it’s taken a form no one could have predicted as recently as three days ago. Going back further, UFC 200 was envisioned as a venue for the biggest possible fights.

The UFC originally wanted to put both Conor McGregor fighting for a title at a new weight class and Ronda Rousey rematching her dismantler, Holly Holm, at the event. Over time, the balance of power has grown more democratic.

The UFC built a card with preliminaries — which are now completed with results at the bottom of the page — captivating enough that they could be co-main events or at least pay-per-view fights on most nights. Bouts on the main card, which will get under way momentarily, have headlining potential up and down.

Despite having lost the title in his most recent fight, Cain Velasquez remains the top heavyweight in UFC history — and he’s in the opener. Velasquez takes on perpetual knockout threat Rousey beau Travis Browne.

The next fight features what on any other card would be the most accomplished pairing of fighters as former featherweight champion Jose Aldo and former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar vow for an interim title created by McGregor’s absence.

It’s only debatable if Aldo and Edgar collectively top the careers of Daniel Cormier and Anderson Silva, who meet in a light heavyweight bout. Silva is considered the first or second best fighter in UFC history and Cormier’s only previous loss came to the other man in the conversation, Jones.

Silva might take over sole possession of first place if he can defeat Cormier, the light heavyweight champion, in a non-title bout after taking the task on less than two days notice. The void was created when Jones failed an out of competition drug test.

Luckily, the UFC had already booked the biggest pay-per-view draw in promotional history, Brock Lesnar, to help minimize the damage of Jones’ mistake. Lesnar returns after a near five-year absence to take on Mark Hunt.

And then, to top it all of in the main event, local women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate attempts to defend her belt for the first time against Amanda Nunes. It’s symbolic to have women headlining UFC 200.

The last time the UFC staged a milestone card of this magnitude, UFC 100, UFC President Dana White still swore females would never fight in the octagon.

Now they’re anchoring an event a long time in the making.

Stay tuned for live round by round coverage of the main card and look below for full results from the preliminary card.

A grappling match broke out in the featured preliminary fight on Fox Sports 1. Julianna Pena controlled the final two rounds on the ground, picking up a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) over Cat Zingano in a women's bantamweight bout.

Kelvin Gastelum picked a grand stage to earn the biggest victory of his career. Gastelum defeated former welterweight champion Johny Hendricks by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) in a catchweight (171.25) bout.

Former bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw likely earned the rematch with Dominick Cruz he craves. Dillashaw captured a unanimous-decision victory (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) over Raphael Assuncao with a striking edge to avenge an earlier loss.

Sage Northcutt and Enrique Marin engaged in a fight about as close as they come, but the judges went with the heavy favorite. Northcutt earned a unanimous-decision nod (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) over Marin in their lightweight bout to start the televised portion of the card.

The war many expected in a pick'em lightweight fight between Joe Lauzon and Diego Sanchez never materialized. It was instead an extermination by Lauzon, who defeated Sanchez by TKO at 1:26 of the first round.

Gegard Mousasi didn't get his wish to replace Jon Jones and face Daniel Cormier at UFC 200, so he'll have to settle for picking up an important dominant victory. Mousasi defeated Thiago Santos by TKO at 4:32 of the first round in a middleweight bout.

Lightweight veteran Jim Miller in his plotted resurgence to open the card. Miller defeated Takanori Gomi by TKO at 2:18 of the first round, finishing the former PRIDE champion with strikes after a takedown.

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.