UFC 139 results: Wanderlei Silva stops Cung Le with strikes in the second round

The second of two, and true, co-main event of the evening at UFC 139: "Shogun vs. Henderson" tonight (Sat., Nov. 19, 2011) in San Jose, California, featured the legendary Wanderlei Silva returning to exchange violence with the debuting Cung Le.

Maybe they wouldn't be fighting for a title with a win but this was going to be one hell of a battle, right?

It sure as hell was. Le was effective early, his flashy offense baffling Silva. But before long, "The Axe Murderer" came out to play and the result was utter and complete destruction.

By the time Silva was done unloading all his punches and knees, he had shattered Le's nose and earned a second round technical knockout stoppage.

Perhaps unexpectedly, Le opened the fight by pushing forward and landing a few shots. Silva answered back with a barrage of blows of his own, never one to back down from a brawl.

Le started winging spinning back fists and kicks and all sorts of craziness. Unbelievably enough, a few of them landed and rocked Silva, nearly dropping the former Pride king. Cung looked comfortable, stalking Wanderlei throughout the majority of the first round.

By the end of the first frame, though, "The Axe Murderer" came storming back, swinging wildly but connecting and stunning his flashy foe.

This was getting interesting.

The offense was coming from everywhere in the second stanza, although at a far more tempered pace. These two were in it for the long haul, or at least treating it that way.

Silva had his most success when applying intense pressure, as Le was clearly fading faster and faster as the fight wore on. Silva, on the other hand, looked fairly fresh.

And then the explosion.

Silva waded in and just went crazy, unloading punches that slipped through and staggered the Sanshou specialist. Then "Wandy" used his legendary Muay Thai and kneed Le into the living death.

Le tried to battle through but the pressure was just too much and the referee was forced to stop it.

Whew. What a fight.

Remember to check out MMAmania.com's ongoing coverage of the UFC 139 pay-per-view by clicking here.