UFC 213 results: Trevin Giles dominates before knockout of James Bochnovic in UFC debut

Trevin Giles took James Bochnovic to place he had never been before – and maybe a place he would rather not return.

In a battle of fighters making their UFC debuts, Giles simply dominated Bochnovic in all facets, en route to a second-round knockout victory to remain undefeated.

The light heavyweight bout opened up the preliminary card of today’s UFC 213 event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It streamed on UFC Fight Pass ahead of additional prelims on FS1 and a main card on pay-per-view.

It was the first time Bochnovic had fought beyond the first round in his 10-fight career.

In Round 1, both men came out patiently and felt each other out. Bochnovic (8-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) decided after about a minute to come heavy with kicks before the men clinched against the cage. Giles (10-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) won that moment as he took down Bochnovic and gained top position. Bochnovic tried for wrist control, though Giles was able to get his arm out and end up in side control. Even so, Bochnovic remained committed to a straight armbar that failed. Bochnovic was content with giving up his back and paid for it with some hard shots by Giles, who held control with one arm and rained punches with another. Giles suplexed Bochnovic as he tried to scramble up then continued with ground-and-pound. It was a strong final 2 minutes to close out the first round for Giles.

Giles came out in the second round with confidence, finding his rhythm standing. Giles hit Bochnovic with a jab and then a strong body shot that hurt him. The result was Giles taking the fight to the mat. He initially fell into side control before taking Bochnovic’s back. Initially, Giles was successful with ground-and-pound until Bochnovic tried standing up, only to be taken down immediately. Giles again took his back and found himself in the most dominant position, mounting his back and punishing Bochnovic with punches before the referee stepped in to stop the fight at the 2:54 mark.

“It felt great,” Giles said. “I love to come into the UFC and get my first victory like this.”

Up-to-the-minute UFC 213 results include:

• Trevin Giles def. James Bochnovic via knockout (punches) – Round 2 KO, 2:54

For complete coverage UFC 213, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan and Steven Marroco contributed to this report on site in Las Vegas.)