UFC 106: Antonio Rogerio Nogueira pummels Luiz Cane

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira defeated Luiz Cane at UFC 106 on Saturday in Las Vegas.

• Forrest Griffin avenges loss to Tito Ortiz
• Josh Koscheck forces Anthony Johnson to tap
• Paulo Thiago grinds down Jacob Volkmann
• Amir Sadollah dominates Phil Baroni
• Brian Foster pounds Brock Larson
• Ben Saunders KOs Marcus Davis
• Georege Sotiropoulos submits Jason Dent
• Kendall Grove triangles Jake Rosholt

Here is how it happened:

It was a key matchup in the light-heavyweight division between two well-rounded Brazilians, with the five-years-younger Cane (27) hailing from Sao Paulo and Nogueira, the twin brother of heavyweight contentender Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, from Rio de Janeiro.

“Little Nog” came out smoking, delivering with the fists and knees, overwhelming Cane from the opening bell. A flurry left Cane in immediate trouble. A huge left crumbled Cane, and Nogueira pounced with a few ground strikes before referee Steve Mazzagatti called it off. Nogueira by TKO, strikes, 1:56, Rd. 1

Nogueira was astonishingly dominant over Cane, showing skills at the very top level of the division. Friendship might keep him from challenging Lyoto Machida for the crown anytime soon. Nogueira was congratulated by his star-studded corner men, including his twin, and middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

“I feel very good to be here,” Nogueira said. “This is the biggest chance for me in my career, with the best promotion.

“I learned (Cane’s) game a lot. He’s a very good boxer, I respect him a lot, but I have been training. So hard, I have been training.”