UFC 126: Anderson Silva knocks out Vitor Belfort in first round

Reporting from Las Vegas —  Anderson Silva did not do much of anything in the first three minutes of his Ultimate Fighting Championship title defense Saturday night against Vitor Belfort.

Then came the kick.

Unleashing a wicked left kick that moved Belfort’s jaw toward his nose, Silva knocked down the former UFC champion, hesitated briefly to ensure there were signs of alertness, then moved in for a right punch and a left that led referee Mario Yamasaki to stop the fight at the 3-minute 25-second mark.

“He faked to the body and kicked to the head,” Belfort said of his fellow Brazilian. “Anderson’s a great fighter.”

In recent fights, Silva (28-4) was appearing more human after a disappointing performance last year in Abu Dhabi and a near-loss to Chael Sonnen in August.

Belfort (19-9) pressed the action early, as nearly two minutes passed before he attempted his first move — a missed stomp of Belfort’s foot. Belfort later took Silva down, and Silva missed a kick.

Silva’s attention to a well-rounded attack set up the one-strike attack, and he thanked the coach who taught him that kick years ago and set up a fight that nearly put the fans at the Mandalay Bay Events Center to sleep before putting Belfort into a near-slumber.

“That was just one of the strikes I worked on with the other various kicks and attacks,” Silva, 35, said. He added that he worked on the decisive kick at a Gardena gym with actor Steven Seagal and others.

Silva, 13-0 in the UFC, successfully defended his middleweight title for the eighth time and has held the title for nearly five years. Now, calls for a showdown with welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre will certainly intensify.

UFC President Dana White said that if St-Pierre defeats Jake Shields in April, Silva would then fight St-Pierre at a major venue.

Earlier Saturday, Jon Jones thought the best news was his second-round submission of previously unbeaten light-heavyweight Ryan Bader. Then he was told something that brought him to his knees.

Because of a knee injury to scheduled title contender Rashad Evans, the UFC opted to make Jones (12-1) the opponent for champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua next month.

“I feel great,” Jones said after handing Bader his first loss in 13 fights. “I’m going for a world title, baby. Let’s do it.”

White said the decision to name Saturday’s winner the new challenger was made after word came that Evans had “blown out” his knee, an announcement made by a UFC spokesman after the fight. The short turnaround is unusual, given that Rua-Jones is scheduled for March 19 at Newark, N.J. Rules require only a 10-day layoff between fights, and Jones, 6 feet 4, is a model of fitness.

“[Jones] just came off a great win in less than two rounds and he’s 23 years old,” White said. “You can do that [stuff] when you’re 23.”

Jones has proved he can do a lot in the sport, producing high left leg kicks, flying punches and substantial wrestling skill to beat Bader, a former All-American wrestler at Arizona State.

In the first round, Jones eased out of a chokehold and had Bader briefly in trouble, later battering him with hits and elbows to the ribs.

Late in the second, Jones wrapped his left arm around Bader’s neck, a guillotine chokehold that forced Bader to tap out, with referee Herb Dean calling off the bout at the 4:20 mark.

“It’s my time,” Jones said. “I’m hungry, I’m going for it.”

Veteran former light-heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin (18-6) won a less dramatic bout in the division, edging former middleweight champion Rich Franklin, 29-28, on all three scorecards.

Griffin dominated the first round atop Franklin (28-6), and Franklin’s right eye was puffy in the second as he endured a right kick to the head and a takedown.

“I felt like I had built up a little lead,” Griffin said. He was breathing hard in the third round and looking at the clock hoping for seconds to vanish. “Rusty,” he said.

Saturday’s card also featured victories by fighters from the UFC’s former smaller-weight organization, World Extreme Cagefighting. Demetrious Johnson (bantamweight) and Chad Mendes (featherweight) impressed in their unanimous-decision victories.

Former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres (38-3) displayed an impressive jab to defeat Arroyo Grande’s Antonio Banuelos by a unanimous decision. Banuelos was reluctant to fully engage Torres until the fight’s final seconds, drawing boos.

“I thought I broke his nose,” Torres said. “I heard it crunch a few times.”

Another WEC veteran, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, worked over Paul Kelly in a lightweight fight, cutting Kelly over the right eye in the first round and finishing him by rear naked chokehold at the 3:48 mark of the second round.

Welterweight Jake Ellenberger defeated Carlos Eduardo Rocha by split decision.

lance.pugmire@latimes.com

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