UFC Fight Night 120 results: Raphael Assuncao chops down, lays out Matthew Lopez

Raphael Assuncao (26-5 MMA, 10-2 UFC) is sometimes criticized for a lack of exciting fights. Matthew Lopez (10-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) won’t be one of those critics.

Assuncao battered Lopez for the opening two rounds of their matchup before laying him out cold in the third.

The catchweight bout (Lopez missed the bantamweight limit) was part of the main card of today’s UFC Fight Night 120 event at Ted Constant Convocation Center on the Old Dominion University campus in Norfolk, Va. It aired on FS1 following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Assuncao took the center to start, and both men looked comfortable exchanging strikes to start. Both men were swinging hard in the early exchanges, though it appeared Assuncao was getting the best of the work. Neither man looked for a takedown until the final minute, when Lopez wrapped the body and successfully took the action to the floor. However, Assuncao worked quickly back to his feet and landed a knee as they broke away.

Lopez pressed a bit to open, but Assuncao avoided well and landed a nice right hand behind the ear, as well as a snapping low kick to the thigh. Lopez tried to move in and out of range, creating angles, but Assuncao’s slapping inside leg kicks started to take a toll. Lopez tried to score a few kicks of his own, but Assuncao was sharp with counters in both his punches up top and more of those chopping shots to the leg.

Assuncao went immediately back to his opponent’s bruised thigh to start the third. Lopez tried to make something happen, but the Assuncao shots continue to buckle his opponent’s legs. A flying knee missed, but as Lopez looked to slip, Assuncao landed a right hand on the button that sent his opponent crashing to the floor. Assuncao followed but pulled his follow-up with Lopez out cold.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 120 results include:

• Raphael Assuncao def. Matthew Lopez via knockout (punch) – Round 3, 1:50
• Clay Guida def. Joe Lauzon via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 1:07
• Marlon Moraes def. John Dodson by split decision (30-27, 27-30, 30-27)
• Tatiana Suarez def. Viviane Pereira via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
• Sage Northcutt def. Michel Quinones via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Nina Ansaroff def. Angela Hill via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Sean Strickland def. Court McGee via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Jake Collier def. Marcel Fortuna via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 120, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s Matt Erickson contributed to this report on site in Norfolk.)