In the first of two heavyweight bouts on the main card of UFC 164, Ben Rothwell defeated Brandon Vera by TKO in the third round. 
The first round was a stand up battle with Rothwell having to chase down Vera for nearly the entire round. Vera was able to land multiple kicks including several to the lead leg of Rothwell.
After chasing down Vera for a majority of the round, Rothwell waved Vera to come to him. At the end of the round, Rothwell landed a kick to the groin and Vera would be able to continue.
Vera would continue to implement his gameplan in the second round of circling Rothwell and picking the best times to attack. Rothwell was able to land the most significant strikes when the fighters were against the cage during the second round.
In the final round, Rothwell began to shake up his body and head movement, which appeared to confuse Vera. Rothwell was able to connect with a flurry of punches that dropped Vera and he finished the fight on the ground. Rothwell (33-9) has won two of his last three fights by TKO/KO and said in his post fight interview that he would like to face Travis Browne next.
UFC 164 Results:
Ben Rothwell def. Brandon Vera via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 1:54
Dustin Poirier def. Erik Koch via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27)
Gleison Tibau def. Jamie Varner via split decision (29-28, 27-29, 29-28)
Tim Elliot def. Louis Gaudinot via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
Hyun Gyu Lim def. Pascal Krauss via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:58
Chico Camus def. Kyung Ho Kang via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Soa Palelei def. Nikita Krylov via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 1:34
Al Iaquinta def. Ryan Couture via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Magnus Cedenblad def. Jared Hamman via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, :57