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AS VEGAS — It started with Rafael dos Anjos. Then it was Melvin Guillard’s turn. Carlos Condit was next, and Chris Leben was the fourth and final fighter to record a knockout here at UFC 132.
But those weren’t the only fireworks during the Fourth of July weekend. Dominic Cruz retained his bantamweight title with a unanimous decision over Urijah Faber.
And Tito Ortiz, who had not won since he defeated Ken Shamrock in October 2006, submitted Ryan Bader.
“First of all, I want to thank [UFC president] Dana White for pushing me to the limit,” said Ortiz. “I also want to thank [Zuffa owner] Lorenzo Fertitta for giving me this awesome job. It was a tapout, baby. A tapout. I won tonight, baby.”
Guillard also won and improved to 46-9-3-1 with his victory over Roller, whose record dropped to 10-4.
“I have been training hard, and I am feeling a lot of emotions right now,” said Guillard. “My whole life I have battled so much, and now I am coming back to the top. My life is in order, and it is a great feeling. I am not going to ask for a title shot, but I do want to ask the UFC to let me fight in Houston, Texas in October.”
When asked if he feels he is close to a title shot, Guillard said he does not know, but it does not matter.
“Frankie Edgar is No. 1, and that is all that matters to me,” he said. “I am somewhere in the bunch.”
To be sure, so is Condit, in the welterweight division. He improved to 27-5 as he dropped Kim (14-1) with a flying knee. When Kim hit the ground, Condit hit him with about six more punches before the ref stopped the fight.
“That’s good, man,” said Condit, when he saw the replay of his knee.
Ortiz was certainly feeling good after he recorded win No. 17. Bader dropped to 13-2 when he tapped out to Ortiz’s guillotine in Round 1.
Faber dropped Cruz several times in the fight, but the champ recorded the unanimous-decision victory and improved his record to 18-1.
“I give all my best in the world to God,” said Cruz. “Without him I would not be here. I will say that dude [Faber] hits hard, and his hands are fast.”
Faber said he knew it would be a tough fight, but he thought his hand should have been raised.
“I felt I won the fight,” said Faber. “Congratulations to Dominick, but I did not feel danger at any point. It is what it is.”
OTHER BOUTS
Chris Leben knocked out Wanderlei Silva, Dennis Siver scored a unanimous decision over Matt Wiman, Brian Bowles defeated Takeya Mizugaki, Aaron Simpson scored a unanimous decision over Brad Tavares, Anthony Njokuani scored a unanimous decision over Andre Winner and Jeff Hougland also defeated Donny Walker.
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