UFC 166 results and photos: Gabriel Gonzaga upsets Shawn Jordan with big TKO

HOUSTON – Gabriel Gonzaga‘s striking again was on display, but this time, it wasn’t his legs doing damage.

Gonzaga’s fists stopped a charging Shawn Jordan in his tracks and earned the onetime title challenger a first-round TKO.

The heavyweight bout was part of the main card of today’s UFC 166 event at Toyota Center in Houston. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and Facebook.

Early in the first, Jordan smiled at a right hand he took early from Gonzaga. But when he charged forward with a jab and missed with a straight left, he opened himself to the same right hand, which Gonzaga threw as a hook.

The shot landed flush on Jordan’s chin and took him straight off his feet. The former Louisiana State University fullback landed just as Gonzaga positioned himself to capitalize, and with a few full-force hammerfists, he was unconscious.

The official time of the stoppage was the 1:33 mark of the first round.

“I was expecting to throw some good punches and get the victory,” Gonzaga said. “The training at my gym and the support of my partners has helped me a lot. We got together and fixed the mistakes I was making in the past. Before, I was worried about winning and losing. Now I’m just focused on the fight, and that’s the key.”

Gonzaga (16-7 MMA, 11-6 UFC), whose head-kick knockout Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic remains one of the sport’s most spectacular, now has won his past two fights by way of knockout, while Jordan (15-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC) sees a two-fight streak snapped.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 166 results include:

• Gabriel Gonzaga def. Shawn Jordan via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:33
• John Dodson def Darrell Montague via KO (punch) – Round 1, 4:13
• Tim Boetsch def. C.B. Dollaway via split decision (30-26, 27-29, 30-26)
• Hector Lombard def. Nate Marquardt via KO (punches) – Round 1, 1:48
• Jessica Eye def. Sarah Kaufman via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• K.J. Noons def. George Sotiropoulos via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Adlan Amagov def. T.J. Waldburger via KO (punches) – Round 1, 3:45
• Tony Ferguson def. Mike Rio via submission (D’Arce choke) – Round 1, 1:52
• Andre Fili def. Jeremy Larsen via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 0:53
• Kyoji Horiguchi def. Dustin Pague via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:51

For complete coverage of UFC 166, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

John Morgan contributed to this report on-site in Houston.