UFC 146 results: Junior dos Santos knocks out Frank Mir to retain heavyweight title

Junior dos Santos put his heavyweight championship on the line in the main event of UFC 146 tonight (Sat., May 26, 2012) against Frank Mir at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

It was his first attempted defense of the title he won by knocking out Cain Velasquez last November, his eighth consecutive victory inside the Octagon. Mir was only given his opportunity because Alistair Overeem failed to get his fight license after a drug test snafu, but his three-fight win streak and considerable resume gave him enough credibility to earn him the spot.

That didn't help him in the fight, though. No, he met the exact same fate as so many before him, falling to Dos Santos by way of knockout at 3:04 of the second round.

Just like the champion said would happen.

Mir's takedown attempts were lame and easily stuffed. He was also a sitting duck on his feet and it wasn't long before "Cigano" planted him multiple times to reinforce his stranglehold on the UFC heavyweight championship.

Mir immediately shot in for a takedown, latching onto a single leg. Dos Santos escaped, though, and started sticking a jab. The first shot was fired by Frank and "Cigano" emphatically deflected it away.

Mir opened up a bit by throwing a high kick that missed. "JDS" took his time and stayed patient with his shots, picking his openings and staying on the outside. This led to a slower pace but it was a five round fight, no reason to rush into anything.

The Brazilian started going to the body, mixing up his punches and confusing Mir's defenses. It was working, too, considering how terribly uncomfortable Mir looked at this point.

Then Dos Santos waded in with a big hook and Mir was staggering around the cage in a ton of trouble. Dos Santos pounced on him but Mir somehow managed to survive to the horn to make it to the second frame.

It felt like only a matter of time.

Mir came out feinting takedowns but Dos Santos looked relaxed and completely unafraid. He also looked faster, firing off punches Mir simply couldn't keep up with.

Junior caught him again, or appeared to, and Mir fell to the floor, hoping JDS would follow. He didn't and they reset.

Oddly enough, Mir continued to stand right in front of the champion, like he was asking for trouble. He found it, too, in the form of a continued assault on his upper body. His return leg kicks were doing little to no damage.

Then Dos Santos landed another shot and Mir fell backwards, knocked senseless. Follow up shots yielded even more damage and that's it.

The fat lady was singing and the champion is still king.

Dos Santos vs. Velasquez part deux, please. Immediately.

Remember, too, to check out MMAmania.com's complete coverage of the UFC 146: "Dos Santos vs. Mir" event by clicking here.