UFC 146: "Dos Santos vs. Mir" took place last night (Sat., May 26, 2012) from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, featuring Junior dos Santos successfully defending his heavyweight championship with a second-round knockout victory over Frank Mir.

Just like he predicted.

Former division titleholder Cain Velasquez earned another crack at the crown by bludgeoning Antonio Silva in the co-main event of the evening. Had this fight not occurred inside the Octagon, Velasquez may well have been wanted for attempted murder today, it was so bad.

Other action on the card saw Roy Nelson send Dave Herman off to La La Land, Stipe Miocic stop Shane del Rosario to remain undefeated, and Stefan Struve submit Lavar Johnson after barely breaking a sweat.

A photo gallery is available for your viewing pleasure after the jump. For complete results and blow-by-blow coverage of all the night's action click here and here.

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UFC 146 delivered a gigantic fight card full of Heavyweight bouts that will surely have an impact on the mixed martial arts (MMA) world for months to come. In particular, the headline bout between Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight Champion Junior dos Santos and Frank Mir, should cause some ripples for the rest of the 265-pounders, worldwide.

The main and co-main event, which took place in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sat., May 26, 2012, looked to have shored up one future match, with near certainty. "JDS'" win over Frank Mir and Cain Velasquez's victory opposite Antonio Silva would appear to signal a rematch for the two in the near future.

But those weren't the only two big winners from the weekend who will need dance partners for an upcoming appearance in the Octagon.

Namely, Roy Nelson, Stipe Miocic and Stefan Struve will all need suitable opponents, moving forward. Ultimately, those decisions will be up to Joe Silva and the bigwigs at Zuffa. With that said, it doesn't hurt to speculate.

After the jump, we'll take a look at the matches to made for the winners from the main card of UFC 146.

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He is an enigmatic performer, with considerable talent vexed by inconsistent performances. But if there are a few constants with Roy Nelson, they are: he can take a hell of a punch and he hits hard.

Very hard.

His overhand right is one of the most dangerous weapons in the game, as he delivers it like a major league closer hurling a fastball.

Nelson's been up and down since steamrolling the competition to win The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 10. In his first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) loss, a bruising decision beating at the hands of Junior dos Santos, he showed his cast-iron chin in taking a frightful pounding while never giving up. That was absolutely excusable.

What wasn't was his flat showings against Frank Mir, where the two conditioning-challenged heavies lumbered around, at times resembling battling elephant seals, and his listless showing when Fabricio Werdum gave a kickboxing clinic as Nelson stood around and got picked apart (yes, that Fabricio Werdum).

But at UFC 146: "Dos Santos vs. Mir" last night (Sat., May 26, 2012) in Las Vegas, Nevada, Nelson took out Dave Herman in a mere 51 seconds with the kind of one-shot destructive power that elicited identical results against Brendan Schaub and Stefan Struve.

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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos showed why he's the world's eminent big man at UFC 146 last night (Sat., May 26, 2012) in Las Vegas, Nevada, with a laser-sharp performance. Dispatching Frank Mir in two rounds, dos Santos' accuracy and timing, along with an unerring ability to control range on the feet, are a vexing package for future heavyweight challengers.

With Alistair Overeem out of the picture for the rest of the year (he may reapply for a license in Nevada in December), dos Santos faces the curious proposition of one marketable challenger at the moment, Cain Velasquez, who he has already starched in 64 seconds. The rematch will almost certainly be more competitive, but if Velasquez can't get the fight to the mat, it may not be that way for long.

That's because dos Santos has jarring power on every shot, along with deceptive speed. It's reminiscent of a prime Fedor Emelianenko, who was outstanding at whipping together vicious combinations that hit with equal effect. Mir's one attempt at a takedown in the opening moments of the bout was a kind of preview for how the rest of the fight would go -- he wasn't particularly close to getting it, and dos Santos simply hopped out, then slipped away as Mir transitioned into a leg lock attempt.

Outside of Velasquez, dos Santos' pool of potential challengers for the rest of 2012 will require some adept matchmaking by the UFC, because theirs isn't a lot to draw from, at least in terms of getting anyone to go off as less than a 4-1 underdog at the betting window.

He's already beaten five of the UFC's best heavyweights in Velasquez, Shane Carwin, Fabricio Werdum, Mir and Roy Nelson. Until Overeem returns in for a mega-heavyweight showdown, it may well expedite Daniel Cormier's move to the UFC.

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They weren't nearly as flashy or dynamic as the guys they beat, but Stipe Miocic and Darren Elkins were proof-positive at UFC 146: "Dos Santos vs. Mir" Saturday night (May 26, 2012) in Las Vegas, Nevada, that conditioning is one hell of an equalizer. Both absorbed considerable early damage before turning the tide in the kind of showing that reinforces the importance of being strong at the end of the fight, not just the beginning.

For Miocic, it was a case of absorbing the thudding kicks and slick angles offered by Shane del Rosario. In a meeting of unbeaten heavyweights, Miocic simply didn't have the foot speed to corral the slippery del Rosario, whose punishing kicks, especially to the midsection, were very sharp.

But Miocic, a former college wrestler with two UFC wins under his belt, including a gritty debut decision over Joey Beltran, simply hung though, eventually switching gears and taking the tiring del Rosario down in the second. And then he went to work, pounding his man, who'd gone from being a vexing standup proposition to hopelessly marooned on the ground. After about a zillion and one hammer fists and assorted ne'er-do-wells from the relentless Miocic, del Rosario was finished.

Score one for conditioning.

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The stakes were potentially very high last night (May 26, 2012) for both heavyweights Roy Nelson and Dave Herman on their UFC 146 main card bout in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Both men had been in the doghouse with Dana White, either for their dry sense of humor or with how the UFC president felt they were taking their careers seriously.

Herman entered the bout having been called "The white Jon Jones" by Nelson, based purely on his athleticism and potential.

So what does it mean now that "Big Country" has knocked him silly? And what's next for both intriguing heavyweight brawlers?

Follow me after the jump for our Roy Nelson vs. Dave Herman UFC 146 post-fight review and analysis.

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If history tells us anything about Ultimate Fighting Championship's (UFC) Heavyweight division, it's that the champions generally don't hold on to their belts for very long.

Junior dos Santos was intent on not following in those notorious footsteps, and he was able to avoid the pitfall by beating up Frank Mir for a little over a round en route to finishing him by way of technical knockout.

In one fell swoop, the Brazilian was able to restore the honor of his mentor, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, as well as cement the fact that he's planning on being the champion for some time to come.

His stand up looked as crisp as ever. His takedown defense proved good enough to keep the fight where he wanted it to be. He keeps getting better, and that's not good for the rest of the division.

So what does the future hold for the rapidly rising star we've come to call "Cigano?" We'll talk that and more after the jump:

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Jamie Varner had fallen a long way since the days of his World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) reign, where he seemed an emerging young face in a rising promotion. After winning the title in an epic brawl against Rob McCullough, then making two exciting defenses, Varner looked exactly like the kind of potent talent that would rise to ascendance as the promotion did, or at least be along for the ride as a roster mainstay.

Instead, he lost his title belt after inactivity through injuries, then suffered the ignominious fate of a nightmarish 2010, losing to Ben Henderson and Donald Cerrone in addition to a draw that would've been yet another loss for Varner, if not for Kamal Shalorus losing points on a foul. Varner closed out the year with a meek performance in losing via first-round submission to upstart Shane Roller.

It's hard to think of an equivalent decline for such a promising young fighter, especially for a guy who, at 21-years-old, gave Hermes Franca a hellacious battle before losing in his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut.

At UFC 146: "Dos Santos vs. Mir" on Saturday night (May 26, 2012), Varner faced unbeaten Edson Barboza, a numbing striker whose physical gifts and thudding kicks made him a fascinating lightweight possibility. Barboza had achieved two eminently rare feats in his four-fight UFC career: forcing surrender via leg kicks (Mike Lullo) and finishing a fight with a Chuck Norris-like spinning back kick to the head (Terry Etim). He seemed almost too good to be true, especially give his huge frame and obvious athleticism.

Varner, a substitute for injured Evan Dunham, had no illusions. He was being brought in under difficult circumstances, perceived as a faded veteran willing to take a chance. And that's all he needed.

In a rousing performance, Varner survived some whopping leg kicks as Barboza started strong, only to land some nice punches of his own. Veterans have plenty of tricks, and in facing a streaking, unbeaten young guy, one of the best ones is to land an inventive combo or two and let them know who's boss. Varner continued to dial in, mixing in a nice body shot-head blow combo, prior to unloading on the stunned Barboza against the cage, delivering a dozen hammerfists to get the stoppage.

"I'm back," said Varner as the camera zoomed in on him, post-victory.

And in a big way.

Jason Probst can be reached at jasonprobst@gmail.com or twitter.com/jasonprobst.