Top-ranked Heavyweight contenders, Andrei Arlovski (No. 2) and Stipe Miocic (No. 3) went toe-to-toe tonight in the co-main event of UFC 195, which took place inside MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, with the winner likely earning the next division title shot after Cain Velasquez attempts to dethrone Fabricio Werdum.
And the Cinderella run of Arlovski has come to a screeching halt. And it took just 54 seconds.
Arlovski was the more aggressive fighter in the early moments, using leg kicks to gauge distance and feel him out with punches. But he was a little lazy, leaving his chin out, but Miocic didn't find it then. Seconds later, though, along the cage Miocic caught him with a short right hand, stunning Arlovski and sending him wobbling into the fence. Miocic followed him and lined up a huge right hand the dropped the former champion, he then unloaded several shots while he was on a knee, forcing referee Herb Dean to intervene and stop the fight in less than one minute.
Miocic was fired up after the finish, screaming at the top of his lungs to company president Dana White who sitting ringside, demanding a title shot. And after that performance, it would be hard to deny Miocic the next crack at the Heavyweight crown.
He earned it.
For complete results from UFC 195: "Lawler vs. Condit," including play-by-play updates, click here and here.