Josh Barnett stepped into the UFC cage for the first time since 2002 on Saturday night at UFC 164 and defeated Frank Mir by TKO in the first round.
The fight opened at a high pace with both guys throwing significant strikes and they ended up clinching against the fence. Barnett was able to land knees in the clinch and short strikes including an uppercut.
While clinching with Mir against the fence, he was able to land a knee that dropped Mir and referee Rob Hinds came in to stop the fight.
Mir (16-8) felt the stoppage was early as he popped up once the referee had called the fight and he has now lost three straight fights. Barnett (33-6) has now won ten of his last eleven fights and nine of those wins came by stoppage.
UFC 164 Results:
Josh Barnett def. Frank Mir via TKO (knee) – Round 1, 1:56
Chad Mendes def. Clay Guida via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, :30
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