UFC 162 results/photos: Edson Barboza stops Rafaello Oliveira with leg kicks

LAS VEGAS – After taking a half-dozen vicious kicks to the body and legs, Rafaello Oliveira knew he needed to get Edson Barboza to the mat.

Unfortunately for him, Barboza was in no mood to grapple. By the second round, he could no longer stand, and Barboza took home the TKO.

The lightweight bout was part of today’s UFC 162 event at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It aired on FX following additional prelims on Facebook and ahead of a main card on pay-per-view.

The fight’s stoppage came at the 1:44 of the second frame, though it might have ended at the end of the first, when Oliveira’s leg began to bleed from over 20 of Barboza’s kicks.

In the opening frame, Barboza might even have landed the wheel kick that knocked out Terry Etim at UFC 142 (and earned him an ESPY nomination) had Oliveira not slightly ducked.

The move wasn’t enough to save him, however, from the onslaught of shins to his body and lead leg.

“I feel great,” Barboza said. “I trained a lot with punches and kicks. But my first fight in the UFC was the exact same thing with all the leg kicks. That was my game plan. Every guy in the UFC is the best, but by the look on his face, I could see it changing and I knew the kicks were starting to hurt him.”

With his win, Barboza (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) finished an opponent with leg kicks for the second time. He now boasts back-to-back wins following a setback against Jamie Varner at UFC 146.

Oliveira (15-6 MMA, 2-5 UFC), who replaced an injured John Makdessi, is now 1-3 in his second UFC stint after a 1-2 run that saw him cut from the promotion.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 162 results include:

• Edson Barboza def. Rafaello Oliveira via TKO (leg kicks) – Round 2, 1:44
• Brian Melancon def. Seth Baczynski via KO (punches) – Round 1, 4:59
• Mike Pierce def. David Mitchell via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:55

For complete coverage of UFC 162, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

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