UFC 168 results, photos: Chris Leben says he’s ‘done,’ stopped by Uriah Hall after first

LAS VEGAS – Uriah Hall came just seconds away from a highlight-reel KO of Chris Leben, who retired on his stool between the first and second rounds.

Leben was dropped by a punch late in the first and pronounced “I’m done” to his corner, which led to a TKO victory for Hall.

The middleweight bout closed out the preliminary card of today’s UFC 168 event at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It aired on FOX Sports 1 following additional prelims on MMAjunkie and ahead of a main card on pay-per-view.

In characteristic fashion, Leben, who made his 22nd octagon appearance, came out swinging. But before he ever got a shot off, Hall flattened him with a flying knee.

From there, Leben gave chase with wide, looping hooks as Hall stayed mobile and popped him with counters. A particularly vicious elbow cut up Leben’s face, and his head snapped from Hall’s jabs.

“I decided to just move my feet and try to hit him,” Hall said afterward. “You don’t want to get hit by that guy.”

But it was a straight right that dropped Leben. Only the bell saved him as Hall plastered him with more punches as he lay against the cage.

UFC announcer Bruce Buffer announced between the first and second that the fight was stopped on the advice of the cageside doctor.

Despite the outcome of his fight, Hall apologized for not going the distance.

“I was trying to end the year with a bang,” said “The Ultimate Fighter 17? finalist, whose competitive mettle was questioned after a lackluster performance in his post-reality show career. “We both came out and gave 100 percent, so I hope we did a good job.”

Hall (8-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) earns his first UFC win and saves his job, while Leben (22-11 MMA, 12-10 UFC) has lost four straight and likely is on his way out of the UFC, if not from the sport.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 168 results include:

For complete coverage of UFC 168, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

John Morgan contributed to this report on-site in Las Vegas.