Cain Velasquez looked back to his best tonight as he took out travis Browne by TKO late in the first round of the main card opener at UFC 200 in Las Vegas.
Round One:
Velasquez takes the center of the cage. Hard right hand from Browne though. Velasquez with a leg kick. And another two. Jabs for Velasquez, then back to the leg kick.
Nice solid jabs and then a right hand behind it for Velasquez. Knee to the body from Browne. Velasquez looking for a takedown, but Browne stays upright.
Velasquez works from the clinch against the cage. He lands a few punches and knees and then they break apart. Velasquez with a leg kick. He reaches down for takedown, but then abandons it.
Constant forward pressure from Velasquez as he lands another leg kick. He feels out with the jab and lands the leg kick again. Hard left and a right for the former champ, then into the clinch.
Velasquez backs out. He tries a wheel kick that surprised Browne and then unloads with a flurry of strikes as Browne covers up against the cage.
Another punch from Velasquez drops Browne. Ground and pound from Velasquez from half-guard. This is his world. Velasquez looking to take Browne’s back as he tries to stand, but it doesn’t work out. Browne on his knees and almost stands, but Velasquez able to keep him down and look for more ground and pound.
Browne able to stand against the cage. Jab for Browne, but then he eats a hard hook that wobbles him. More strikes for Velasquez and Browne looks to be wilting.
Browne sinks to the canvas on his front and Velasquez blasts away at him with ground and pound in the final 10 seconds. Browne not doing anything to defend himself and with just seconds remaining the ref decides he’s had enough. Velasquez wins by TKO!
Great performance from Velasquez who looked very much back to his old self here tonight in the grappling department, and even showed a few new wrinkles in his stand-up game too. A healthy Velasquez is still a very dangerous man indeed, and this win should put him straight back into title contention.
