UFC 146 results recap for Junior dos Santos vs Frank Mir 'Prelims' fights on Facebook/FX

Before the UFC 146: "Dos Santos vs. Mir" all heavyweight main card kicked off on pay-per-view (PPV) tonight (Sat., May 26, 2012) from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, an entire seven-bout preliminary card was broadcast on Facebook and FX, respectively.

And it was stacked, as far as "Prelims" go.

The "headliner" featured Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season 14 winner Diego Brandao taking on the always game but often unheralded Darren Elkins in a featherweight showcase.

Expectations were high for Brandao, considering how unbelievable he looked in his TUF victory last year. Not only did he take home the glass trophy, he also snagged both "Submission" and "Fight of the Night" honors. Could he replicate that success as the lead-in to tonight's big PPV event?

You bet your ass he could. And he did ... for one round.

The problem with that is the fight was contracted for three rounds. And while Brandao nearly finished it in the opening frame with a huge flying knee and some vicious ground-n-pound, Elkins made a furious comeback in the second. In fact, one could argue they traded 10-8 rounds heading into the third.

At best it was even with five minutes to glory and ultimately, Elkins pulled out the upset to remain undefeated at 145-pounds.

But that's not all.

Check out a complete recap of the entire UFC 146: "Dos Santos vs. Mir" preliminary card after the jump.

Remember Jamie Varner? Yeah, he came back to the UFC tonight on a short notice fight against Edson Barboza. That's a tough match-up with proper notice but sometimes you have to sacrifice to get what you want.

And sometimes it pays off big.

That's what happened tonight, as Varner proved everyone wrong -- including the oddsmakers who had Barboza favored by as much as -550 -- by blasting the Brazilian into oblivion inside the very first round.

Late stoppage by referee Steve Mazzagatti aside, it was one of the most thrilling returns in some time. Welcome back, Jamie Varner. Grab a chair, too, because you're probably here to stay.

For now.

Jason Miller thrilled fans at the arena with another dancing entrance but could he do the same once he got inside the cage to take on C.B. Dollaway?

It looked good early, as "Mayhem" showboated around without a care in the world. He dropped Dollaway too, but failed to finish. And then the tide turned on a dime and "The Doberman" earned a takedown that he used to ride out the round.

It was eerily similar to the Michael Bisping fight.

Except this time Miller came out just as strong in the second round, landing yet another hard shot that had Dollaway on shaky legs all around the cage. But, once again, Miller went in for the kill and ended up on his back getting controlled by a superior wrestler.

Guess what happened in round three? You got it.

Dollaway earned a decision, albeit a close one, and "Mayhem" is now left wondering if he even has a future with the UFC. He looked good in spots here but he simply couldn't contend with a strong wrestler.

Dan Hardy came into tonight's festivities on a four-fight losing streak and in the midst of an identity crisis. His bout against Duane Ludwig represented a crossroads for the British banger.

A victory would mean new life in the UFC welterweight division. A loss could mean retirement from the sport altogether.

Alas, "The Outlaw" made a successful return by crushing "Bang" with a huge left hook that had Ludwig seeing stars. Once the Brit followed up with punches, that was all she wrote.

Lorenzo Fertitta's decision to keep the mohawked warrior around proved a smart one, no?

"Christmas" came early this year with Jacob Volkmann bringing his brand of violence -- if you can call it that -- to the MGM Grand in his lightweight tussle against British youngster Paul Sass.

And the Englishman brought some coal with him to the Octagon.

That's because Sass managed to lure Volkmann into going to the mat with him and before you could blink twice, he had a triangle armbar combination locked in that got a surprisingly quick tap.

That's 13-0 total, 3-0 in the UFC, 11 submissions, and nine victories by triangle.

Glover Teixeira made his long awaited UFC debut tonight in a light heavyweight battle against former Ultimate Fighter contestant, Kyle Kingsbury. The Brazilian, a training partner of former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell, came into his debut having won 15 fights in a row.

It didn't take long to see why he was so heavily hyped.

On top of blitzing Kingsbury with big punches and the trademark aggression fans used to love from Liddell, he showed off a tight ground game, as well, submitting "Kingsbu" with an arm triangle in the very first round.

Easy peasy.

The night started with Mike Brown hoping to resurrect his once great career against featherweight prospect Daniel Pineda, who came in having gone two years without losing, including twice inside the Octagon.

Experience still trumps youth, y'all.

That's because the wily Brown used his brain to overpower Pineda en route to a unanimous decision victory. "The Pit" may have mostly controlled the fight while it was standing but the former WEC champion made sure that wasn't the case for very long.

Brown isn't likely to make another run at Jose Aldo anytime soon but he bought himself another couple fights with a solid performance against a game young opponent.

Here are the complete undercard results:

Mike Brown def. Daniel Pineda via unanimous decision
Glover Teixeira def. Kyle Kingsbury via submission (arm triangle) in round one
Paul Sass def. Jacob Volkmann via submission (triangle armbar) in round one
Dan Hardy def. Duane Ludwig via technical knockout in round one
C.B. Dollaway def. Jason Miller via unanimous decision
Jamie Varner def. Edson Barboza via knockout in round one
Darren Elkins def. Diego Brandao via unanimous decision

That's it for the "Prelims" portion of the UFC 146 fight card.

Be sure to hit up MMAmania.com's for up to the minute results and blow-by-blow coverage of the rest of the night's UFC 146 pay-per-view (PPV) action by clicking here.