UFC 156 Results And Recap For Aldo vs. Edgar

Alistair Overeem (James Law/HeavyMMA)

UFC 156 results from Sin City

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is back in Las Vegas for Super Bowl weekend and the highly-anticipated UFC 156.

The card features a featherweight title fight between champ Jose Aldo and former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, along with a light heavyweight contest between Rashad Evans and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

The main card rounds out with Antonio Silva vs. Alistair Overeem, Jon Fitch vs. Demian Maia, and Joseph Benavidez vs. Ian McCall, making for a stacked card.

Join Fightday.com at 7 p.m. ET for live results from the preliminary card and then at 10 p.m. ET for live results from the pay-per-view card.

Preliminary Card

Francisco Rivera vs. Edwin Figueroa

Figueroa looked sharp early in the opening bout of the evening, landing the biggest shots of the first round, but Rivera was the one to take control in the second. The two brawled back and forth up until the four minute mark of the second when Figueroa began to fade. Rivera landed a vicious right, staggering his opponent against the cage. Figueroa fought admirably to stay on his feet, but ultimately Rivera's power proved too much.

Official Decision: Rivera def. Figueroa via technical knockout at 4:20 of Round 2

Chico Camus vs. Dustin Kimura

The second fight of the evening was all about the submission game of Dustin Kimura. Chico Camus, coached by Duke Roufus, dictated the fight throughout the first two rounds, taking the fight down at will. But from the bottom, Kimura continuously threatened with his submission game. While Camus managed to avoid danger for the majority of the first 10 minutes, Kimura finally found the submission he was looking for in the third round, working from full mount to back mount to rear naked choke. Great finish from the prospect.

Official Decision: Kimura def. Camus via submission (rear naked choke) at 1:50 of Round 3

Yves Edwards vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg

After two dynamic finishes in the first two fights of UFC 156, Isaac Vallie-Flagg and Yves Edwards needed all three rounds to determine a winner. Neither fighter was able to do much in the first, while Edwards had a slight upper hand in the second with a takedown. Vallie-Flagg turned things on late, stalking Edwards for the entirety of the final round, which was likely the difference in going home a winner or loser tonight.

Official Decision: Vallie-Flagg def. Edwards via split-decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Jacob Volkmann vs. Bobby Green

Poor officiating almost ruined this contest. Bobby Green had other plans. Following a disappointing first round, the Strikeforce import took down Volkmann in the second and began working solid ground and pound. But referee Kim Winslow didn't think it was enough and called for the two to stand back up. Dana White went to Twitter to voice his frustrations, while Green simply gestured quizzically and continued fighting. Instead of letting that officiating change the momentum, Green entered the third round with a huge fire under him, taking control of the fight and eventually working to full mount. Volkmann attempted to escape, but merely rolled into a rear naked choke and was forced to tap.

Official Decision: Green def. Volkmann via submission (rear naked choke) at 4:25 of Round 3

Jay Hieron vs. Tyron Woodley

Tyron Woodley has arrived. The Strikeforce veteran exploded into the UFC welterweight division within just 36 seconds of his UFC career. After a vicious strike floored Hieron just moments into the fight, Woodley followed his opponent to the ground where he delivered some of the fiercest ground strikes one could imagine. It wasn't long before Hieron was knocked out cold, and Woodley was storming around the cage in celebration.

Official Decision: Woodley def. Hieron via knockout at 0:36 of Round 1

Evan Dunham vs. Gleison Tibau

The final fight of the main card featured lightweight contenders Evan Dunham and Gleison Tibau, and the contest ended up being as close as anyone could have expected. Tibau came out strong, throwing heavy hands early and nearly locking on a guillotine choke. However, the second round was much more even, and by the third Dunham had taken control. Finishing off the final frame strong, Dunham walked away with the split-decision.

Official Decision: Dunham def. Tibau via split-decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Main Card

Joseph Benavidez vs. Ian McCall

The flyweights were back in action at UFC 156 with former title challenger Joseph Benavidez and Ian McCall hoping to leap back up the 125 lb. ladder. Benavidez looked for an early stoppage, swinging with power in the early going, but McCall was more than willing to roll with the punches.

At the end of the round, a McCall elbow sliced Benavidez open, and "Uncle Creepy" eagerly entered the second round by shouting at the crowd. With Benavidez slowing a bit, McCall's technique was on display, and he managed to score the better strikes in the second frame. Benavidez attempted to utilize his wrestling, but McCall proved difficult to handle. The two entered the third and final frame with one round a piece.

And then Benavidez regained his footing and took back control of the fight.

The contender, willing to grind his way to victory, abandoned his search for the big knockout and looked to score points. He was able to do so with better technique. The two got caught in an incredible scramble during the final round, but Benavidez escaped without any damage and avoided any submissions from McCall.

The bout could have ended up as a split-decision, but instead all three judges saw it the same way.

Official Decision: Benavidez def. McCall via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Jon Fitch vs. Demian Maia

Jon Fitch looked great in his victory over Erick Silva late last year; he defeated a top prospect and got back in the win column after a lengthy stay away. At UFC 156, Demian Maia sent the Purdue alum right back to the drawing boards.

A Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace, Maia managed to take Fitch down in the opening round and immediately work to the back. Fitch walked with Maia on him like a backpack, never able to shake the submission ace. The Brazilian spent nearly the entirety of the opening round on Fitch's back, and it appeared the former middleweight contender could be too much for the former welterweight contender.

That became obvious in the second frame when Maia, with ease, took Fitch down again and gained back control, though he was not able to finish. Still, he entered the third with a big lead against the once mighty Fitch.

In the third frame, the AKA product started mounting a bit of offense, but Maia continuously threatened. Wary of his opponent's submission game, Fitch spent too much time defending and was unable to come anywhere close to the stoppage he needed.

Demian Maia now is a major force at the 170 lb. mark.

Official Decision: Maia def. Fitch via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Alistair Overeem vs. Antonio Silva

The trash talk was there prior to UFC 156 between heavyweights Antonio Silva and Alistair Overeem. Overeem stated at the weigh ins that Silva was "a dead man," Silva said Overeem was too cocky, and the banter goes on.

But in the third to last fight of the evening in Vegas, the legend of Alistair Overeem was dismantled by Silva with his late heroics.

Overeem won the first two rounds of the heavyweight tilt with ease, as a timid Silva did not seem eager to engage on the feet, perhaps hoping merely to wait for his opponent to tire. A late knee in the second round was about the only offense in the first 10 minutes from the Brazilian.

Meanwhile, Overeem worked his striking and his grappling, landing on the feet and the ground without much struggle. However, seemingly toying with the heavy underdog, Overeem did not get a finish, and the pair went to a third and final round.

And Overeem would not see the final bell of that round after a brutal barrage from Silva forced a stoppage less than half a minute into the round. Beginning with a head kick, Silva stunned Overeem, landing several big shots after before standing over his knocked out opponent, screaming down on him.

Don't get Antonio Silva angry.

Official Decision: Silva def. Overeem via technical knockout at 0:25 of Round 3

Rashad Evans vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

Tonight was not a night for the Blackzilians.

Following a knockout loss for Alistair Overeem against Antonio Silva, the renowned gym watched it light heavyweight equivalent drop to veteran Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in the co-main even tof UFC 156.

Rashad Evans, the former 205 lb. champion, was uninterested and uninspired throughout the three round affair, throwing punches here and there without any real sense of urgency.

Meanwhile, PRIDE veteran Nogueira, the younger brother of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, worked his crisp, technical striking while avoiding the offense of his younger opponent.

The two exchanged for three, five minute rounds, but hardly delivered anything worthy of the co-main event status. Evans simply didn't do enough, while Nogueira didn't exactly have much to work with as far as making the contest exciting.

Regardless of the entertainment value, Evans drops his second fight in a row (his third as a professional) and seems to be ready to make the move down to 185 lbs. to meet Anderson Silva.

Nogueira, on the other hand, makes a huge leap forward in the light heavyweight mix, taking down the heavy favorite.

Official Decision: Nogueira def. Evans via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar

Frankie Edgar worked his way down to featherweight at UFC 156 for a Super Bowl weekend superfight against champion Jose Aldo, but "The Answer" would lose his third straight fight after another five hard-fought rounds.

Aldo took control early, while a slow starting Edgar seemed content to give away the first two frames before turning it up a bit in the third, the first round that was actually close.

However, Aldo's dominance in the opening 10 minutes meant Edgar was fighting from behind, which was territory he was no stranger to. In the third frame, the former lightweight champion mounted some offense, while defending better, especially against the leg kicks. Still, the round was close, and Edgar could very well have lost it.

In the fourth round, the challenger displayed a superior gas tank to the champion, who was starting to fade a bit as the seconds ticked down. Edgar was once again able to land his strikes, while also defending better, though the takedown remained ever-evasive.

The story was the same for the fifth and final round, as Edgar successfully struck with the dynamic champion, but failed to take the fight down to the ground where he was most comfortable.

Though the contest was close, the scorecards were not, and the judges saw fight to give Aldo the unanimous decision win, making him once again seem like an untouchable champion.

Meanwhile, Edgar has lost three straight fights and has won just one fight in his past five contests. He has had a grueling past few years, racking up cage time like no other UFC fighter. While an immediate rematch is certainly possible, it seems Edgar finds himself once again just short on the judges' scorecards.

Official Decision: Aldo def. Edgar via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)