UFC 223 results: Chris Gruetzemacher leaves Joe Lauzon a bloody mess for TKO win

Chris Gruetzemacher picked up the biggest win of his career and left veteran Joe Lauzon a bruised and bloody mess.

Gruetzemacher (14-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) tore Lauzon (27-15 MMA, 14-12 UFC) up for most of the 10 minutes of their fight. Gruetzemacher couldn’t put Lauzon down in the second round, but the volume of punches he landed had Lauzon’s face looking way worse for the wear. Lauzon’s corner shut things down for him after 10 minutes.

The lightweight bout opened up the main card of today’s UFC 223 event at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1.

Gruetzemacher and Lauzon started off slugging it out in a hurry. And Lauzon landed some big shots. A huge elbow landed for Lauzon nearly a minute in. Then Lauzon went to the canvas, but had to work off his back with Gruetzemacher on top. Lauzon swept out, but it was only temporary. Gruetzemacher kept him on his back and stood up and landed solid right hands to the body. Lauzon went hard for a kneebar, but Gruetzemacher planted his leg.

When he rolled, Lauzon worked for a leg lock, but when he couldn’t keep it he used it to get bcak to his feet. Lauzon’s pace slowed late in the round, and Gruetzemacher landed a solid uppercut and a knee to the body. Gruetzemacher punched to the body and started to take the lead in the striking department while Lauzon continued to fade.

Gruetzemacher started to put it on Lauzon in the second round. Lauzon looked like he had nothing in the tank. His punches were off the mark, and Gruetzemacher walked right through just about anything Lauzon threw at him. Gruetzemacher leveled him with knees to the body and punches. Midway through, Lauzon fired back with his face a bruised and bloodied mess. Gruetzemacher stayed after the finish, but Lauzon refused to go down in the closing seconds.

And when the cageside physician looked in at Lauzon, both eyes were nearly swollen shut. And that was it for the biggest win of Gruetzemacher’s career. It was Lauzon’s corner that subtly told the doctor he was done.

Gruetzemacher snapped a two-fight skid of submission losses. Lauzon lost for the third straight time and fourth time in five fights.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 223 results include:

• Chris Gruetzemacher def. Joe Lauzon via TKO (corner stoppage) – Round 2, 5:00
• Karolina Kowalkiewicz def. Felice Herrig via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Olivier Aubin-Mercier def. Evan Dunham via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 0:53
• Ashlee Evans-Smith def. Bec Rawlings via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Devin Clark def. Michael Rodriguez via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

For complete coverage of UFC 223, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan, Mike Bohn and Ken Hathaway contributed to this report on site in Brooklyn.)