Rousimar Palhares had his opportunity to employ the most dangerous weapon in his arsenal.
Palhares threatened with multiple submission attempts on Belcher’s right leg, but a cool and composed Belcher survived, turning the tables on Palhares with a steady dose of ground-and-pound earning a TKO victory at 4:18 of the first round.
Belcher started the fight coming forward, feinting his jab, but it was Palhares who struck first, diving in for a single and putting Belcher on his back early. The two battled for position, with Belcher looking for a twister attempt as he fought to maintain control of Palhares on the ground. “Toquinho” was able to fend off the attack before rolling for the right leg of Belcher.
From there he strung together a rapid succession of attempts to finish Belcher as he torqued on the leg of his opponent. Belcher remained very calm, finally freeing his leg before diving into the guard of Palhares. From there he went to work, peppering Palhares with elbows and a flurry of big punches from the top. Palhares had no answer for the onslaught, forcing the referee to step in and stop the fight with less than a minute to go in the opening round.
Belcher (18-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC) has now won six of his last seven fights and voiced his desire to fight for the title in the near future. The loss for Palhares (14-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) snaps a four-fight win streak.