UFC on FX 7: Belfort vs. Bisping Live Results And Recap

Vitor Belfort (left) vs. Michael Bisping (right)

Results for UFC on FX 7 from Sao Paulo

UFC on FX 7 is live from Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Fightday.com will be bringing you live coverage of the event throughout the evening.

Join Fightday.com for quick results from the preliminary card action at 5:45 p.m. ET, and then at 9 p.m. ET we'll have fight recaps and results for the main card, featuring middleweights Michael Bisping and Vitor Belfort.

Preliminary Card

C.J. Keith vs. Francisco Trinaldo

C.J. Keith entered the cage to a litany of boos from the Brazilian fans, but those same fans were cheering loudly when fellow Trinaldo walked to the Octagon. The Brazilian gave his fans something to cheer about with a dominant performance ending by way of submission in the second round.

Francisco Trinaldo def. C.J. Keith via submission (arm triangle choke) at 1:50 of Round 2

Ildemar Alcantara vs. Wagner Prado

Wagner Prado's first two UFC contests didn't go as planned, and the third wasn't much better. Alcantara struggled against Prado in the first, but he managed to turn things around in the second with a smooth knee bar attempt. Prado attempted to escape the hold, but Alcantara's grip forced a tap.

Official Decision: Alcantara def. Prado via submission (knee bar) at 2:39 of Round 2

Pedro Nobre vs. Yuri Alcantara

After the first two fights ended by way of submission, the third fight also did not go the distance, but it also did not yield a winner. Alcantara swarmed on Nobre early in the fight, and the Brazilian standout looked to be on the brink of earning a victory. Then the referee stepped in, citing shots to the back of the head as the reason for the break in action. Nobre lies on his back as he is being checked by the doctor, and the fight is called.

Official Decision: Fight declared a no contest due to inadvertent strikes to the back of the head

Edson Barboza vs. Lucas Martins

Undefeated Lucas Martins looked to earn a UFC debut victory over veteran Edson Barboza in the evening's fourth contest, but the Chute Boxe product could not deal with the pressure. Barboza landed a nice shot while Martins was backing up during an exchange, and he followed the UFC rookie to the floor, where he earned a submission due to strikes.

Official Decision: Barboza def. Martins via technical knockout at 2:38 of Round 1

Diego Nunes vs. Nik Lentz

Nik Lentz dominated with a thrilling first round stoppage in his debut as a featherweight. Unfortunately, his second fight at 145 lbs. reminded those in the arena of the Lentz we were all used to during his struggle to entertain at lightweight. While Nunes could do little in terms of offense, Lentz didn't earn any fans. Fortunately for him, he earned the unanimous decision win.

Official Decision: Lentz def. Nunes via unanimous decision (30-28, 30-27, 30-26)

Andrew Craig vs. Ronny Markes

Immediately following the lackluster win for Nik Lentz, Ronny Markes appeared bent on doing his best impression of the American. He controlled the first two round, albeit not in an exciting manner. Craig came alive in the third, finally providing a few somewhat intense moments in the three round contest. But his third round effort wasn't enough, and Markes walked away with the unanimous decision.

Official Decision: Markes def. Craig via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Godofredo Castro vs. Milton Vieira

The final fight of the preliminary card didn't exactly have a lot to live up to after the previous two fights, but it still managed to disappoint. Castro and Vieira fought for the full 15 minutes in what proved to be a very competitive bout, just not a very exciting one. Castro earned the nod, but it really could have gone either way.

Official Decision: Castro def. Vieira via split-decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

Main Card

Thiago Tavares vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov

Khabib Nurmagomedov earned 16 straight wins to being his career, followed by two more in his first two UFC bouts. Against Tavares in the opening fight of UFC on FX 7, he looked to improve his record to an impressive 19-0.

And he didn't even need a round to do it.

Nurmagomedov caught Tavares on the feet after a minute of little action, sending the Brazilian to the ground. The Russian fighter followed his downed opponent and land several vicious elbows to the head of his foe, leading to a knockout stoppage at just 1:55 of Round 1.

Nurmagomedov now is 3-0 in the UFC with two of those wins coming by way of stoppage. He finds himself a rising prospect in the lightweight division and is likely in line for a much steeper challenge later in 2013. Jamie Varner and Rafael dos Anjos sound like two possible opponent's for the fast-rising Russian.

Official Decision: Nurmagomedov def. Tavares via knockout at 1:55 of Round 1

Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Ben Rothwell

In a battle of the heavyweights, Gonzaga and Rothwell battled in the second of four main card bouts, but the judges would not be needed.

Gonzaga worked relentlessly for a takedown in the first round and managed to earn several throughout the opening five minutes. But Rothwell consistently worked his way back to the feet after defending the Brazilian's grappling.

However, the second round was a different story as Gonzaga looked for the submission instead of the takedown. When the two locked up, the submission ace grabbed hold of a guillotine choke. The fight came crashing to the floor, where Rothwell was unable to escape the grasp of Gonzaga.

Gonzaga now has won three straight fights, while Rothwell has not won two consecutive fights since 2007.

Gonzaga def. Rothwell via submission (guillotine choke) at 1:01 of Round 2

Daniel Sarafian vs. C.B. Dollaway

The evening's co-main event featured middleweight veteran C.B. Dollaway and the UFC rookie Daniel Sarafian, and the first round was all Sarafian.

The hometown fighter looked to extend his four-fight winning streak to five in front of the Sao Paulo crowd, but did not look for a submission, his preferred method. Instead, he was swinging for the fences from the opening bell.

Dollaway, meanwhile, looked composed throughout the opening frame, but Sarafian made him pay several times with lightning quick striking. "The Doberman" survived the first, and even managed a bit of offense, but the round certainly went to the Brazilian.

The second frame was more of the same, but Dollaway continued to rob his opponent of momentum following an early scare to the American fighter. While Sarafian continued throwing haymakers, Dollaway utilized good head movement and superior technique.

And that started working, especially in the closing moments of the second, when an uppercut from Dollaway floored Sarafian. Dollaway moved to the back with the seconds ticking away, slamming hammerfists into the side of his opponent's head.

Strike after strike landed, but referee Mario Yamasaki gave Sarafian every chance to survive. Fortunately for the Brazilian, the bell saved him from an almost certain stoppage.

The third round began with a surprisingly confident Sarafian throwing big punches once again, attempting to egg Dollaway into a brawl. Instead, Dollaway worked his technique on the feet while also dominating in the grappling department.

That is, until the two minute mark of the final round.

Dollaway, working from half guard, was swept by Sarafian after three dominant minutes from the American. From there, Sarafian worked towards his opponent's back and nearly sunk in the choke, but Dollaway escaped.

In the waning moments of the fight, the two worked back to the feet, and Sarafian capped off the fight with a big knee, but it would not be enough for him to earn the victory.

Official Decision: Dollaway def. Sarafian via split-decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Vitor Belfort vs. Michael Bisping

Prior to the contest, Dana White tweeted that a Bisping victory would lead to the Brit fighting middleweight champ Anderson Silva later this year.

But that fight simply wasn't meant to be.

Bisping began strong, utilizing his technique to counter the speed and power of Belfort, but a late surge from the Brazilian in the opening round quickly erased the success the Brit had found in the first 4:30 of the round. And Belfort wasted little time in the second to finish the fight when opportunity struck.

A vicious high kick landed for Belfort in the early going of the second round, sending his opponent crumbling to the mat. Belfort jumped on his opponent and pounded away before the referee mercilessly tore him away from Bisping.

The loss will be a tough one to swallow for Bisping as he not only lost the fight, but also a shot at the middleweight title. Meanwhile, Belfort is on his way back to becoming top contender in at 185 lbs.

Official Decision: Belfort def. Bisping via technical knockout at 1:27 of Round 2