UFC 168 results, photos: Dustin Poirier batters Diego Brandao for first-round TKO

LAS VEGAS – The bad blood from Friday’s weigh-ins ultimately didn’t matter much to Dustin Poirier. He simply came out and went to work.

Poirier traded shots with Diego Brandao for most of the first round, then started teeing off on the Brazilian late in the first to get a TKO stoppage – and put himself right into the thick of things in the featherweight division.

The catchweight bout (Brandao failed to make weight) opened up the main card of today’s UFC 168 event at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and MMAjunkie.

Poirier kicked early, then blocked a high kick from Brandao. Poirier slipped, and Brandao unleashed a kick that was close to landing while his opponent was down. Despite Friday’s bad blood, Brandao quickly apologized for the transgression before the two went back to work.

Two minutes in, Brandao landed a good knee, but then ate a right hand as he threw one of his own. Poirier landed a right hand over the top that had Brandao looking takedown. He got it, but Poirier popped right back up. Seconds later, a right hand again landed for Poirier. With a minute left, Brandao landed a takedown that had him in better position – but again, Poirier worked his way back up.

Then he went to work. He landed some big body shots, then started teeing off on Brandao’s head. He rocked him with a left hand and as Mario Yamasaki looked in with Brandao on the ground, Poirier was calculated with his strikes and got the finish with just six seconds left in the frame.

Poirier is ranked No. 13 and Brandao an Honorable Mention in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie.com MMA featherweight power rankings.

“Words can’t explain how happy I am,” Poirier said. “I busted my ass for this. I didn’t cut any corners, and I knew I was going to win tonight. You’d have had to kill me, man. I’ve been working hard at American Top Team, and I’m getting better every day. I’m just having fun and living the dream riding this wave.”

Poirier (15-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) won for the second straight time after a dominant decision win over Erik Koch in August. He now has won three of his past four. Brandao (18-9 MMA, 4-2 UFC) had his three-fight losing skid snapped and was stopped for the first time in nearly four years.

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

• Dustin Poirier def. Diego Brandao via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:54
• Uriah Hall def. Chris Leben via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) – Round 1, 5:00
• Michael Johnson def. Gleison Tibau via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 1:32
• Dennis Siver def. Manvel Gamburyan via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• John Howard def. Siyar Bahadurzada via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• William Macario def. Bobby Voelker via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Robbie Peralta def. Estevan Payan via knockout (punches) – Round 3, 0:12

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.