UFC Fight Night 45 took place on Wednesday night in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and in the night’s main event, Donald Cerrone knocked out Jim Miller with a highlight-reel worthy head kick.
The fight started with a fast-paced, back-and-forth round that saw Miller slightly get the better of Cerrone on the feet with his boxing and score a takedown.
Cerrone started to control the contest in the second round eventually dropping Miller with a clean body kick. Referee Dan Miragliotta interpreted the kick as groin shot and incorrectly gave Miller time to continue. Once the fight resumed, Cerrone kept his foot on the accelerator and eventually placed his right foot on the temple of Miller, knocking him out.
Cerrone (24-6, 1 NC) has now finished his last four opponents within the first two rounds. Miller (24-5, 1 NC) suffered the first knockout loss in his career.
Barboza showcases kicking power
Midway through the first period of his lightweight bout against Evan Dunham, Edson Barboza dropped Dunham with a thunderous right kick to the body and pieced together a few more strikes until referee Keith Peterson halted the contest.
Barboza defended attempts from Dunham to bring the to the ground and was able to ultimately finish the fight inside the first frame. For the tenth time in his sixteen fight career, Barboza (14-2) finished a fight with strikes. Dunham (14-6) has now dropped four of his last five fights.
Story taps Mafra in the second
Rick Story earned a much-needed victory when submitted Leonardo Mafra in the second round with a head-and-arm choke.
As is usually the case in his fights, Rick Story utilized his wrestling and top position game to take Mafra out of his comfort zone and eventually obtain the victory. With the submission victory, Story (17-8) now has eight finishes on his resume, nearly matching his nine victories by decision. Mafra’s (11-2) return to the UFC was unsuccessful as he is now 0-2 in the promotion.
Lineker puts away Ozkilic late
With just nine seconds left in the fight, John Lineker put an exclamation point on his performance against Alptekin Ozkilic, finishing the Turkish flyweight with a barrage of punishing rights and ground strikes that forced referee Keith Peterson stop the bout.
Throughout the entire fight, Lineker dictated the pace with his boxing, punishing Ozkilic with an array of hooks and uppercuts. Although Alptekin Ozkilic was able to mount offense throughout the fight and keep it competitive, he was unable to completely match the heavy output of strikes from his Brazilian opponent.
Lineker (24-7) rebounded after his second loss in the UFC with an impressive victory that should vault him back up the flyweight ranks. His opponent, Ozkilic (9-3), has now lost consecutive fights for the first time in his MMA career.
The complete UFC Fight Night 45 results are below.
Main Card: (Fox Sports 1)
Donald Cerrone def. Jim Miller via KO (head kick) – Round 2, 3:31
Edson Barboza def. Evan Dunham via TKO (kick and punches) – Round 1, 3:06
Rick Story def. Leonardo Mafra via submission (head-and-arm choke) – Round 2, 2:12
Joe Proctor def. Justin Salas via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 3:27
John Lineker def. Alptekin Ozkilic via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 4:51
Lucas Martins def. Alex White via KO (punches) – Round 3, 2:08
Preliminary Card: (Fox Sports 1)
Gleison Tibau def. Pat Healy via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Leslie Smith def. Jessamyn Duke via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 2:24
Aljamain Sterling def. Hugo Viana via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 3:50
Yosdenis Cedeno def. Jerrod Saunders via TKO (injury) – Round 1, 5:00
Preliminary Card: (Fight Pass)
Claudia Gadelha def. Tina Lahdemaki via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)