UFC Fight Night 123 results: Andre Soukhamthath TKOs Luke Sanders in second for first UFC win

After a slow first round, Andre Soukhamthath exploded early in the second, flooring Luke Sanders with a hard right hand.

With Sanders (11-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) struggling to regain his bearings, Soukhamthath (12-5 MMA, 1-2 UFC) pounced with follow-up strikes on the mat, earning the TKO finish at the 1:06 mark of Round 2.

The bantamweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC Fight Night 123 event at Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif. It aired on FS1 following additional prelims on UFC Fight Pass and ahead of a main card on FS1.

After a first round that was somewhat short on action, Soukhamthath was in need of something big to announce his presence – especially since he came into this bout winless in two UFC outings.

But after slipping a Sanders left hand, Soukhamthath came roaring back with a hard right to the jaw that flattened Sanders, who seemed to briefly lose consciousness before jolting back into the fight.

Sanders would attempt to roll away from Soukhamthath’s punches and elbows after that, going to his belly to avoid the assault while still appearing to be somewhat in possession of his faculties, but referee Josh Rosenthal decided he’d seen enough.

Just a little over a minute into the second, Rosenthal stepped in to call off the bout, much to the dismay of Sanders, who was on his feet immediately and arguing against the stoppage, but to no avail.

The win is Soukhamthath’s first in the UFC, snapping a two-fight losing streak. Sanders has now lost two straight.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 123 results include:

• Andre Soukhamthath def. Luke Sanders via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 1:06
• Alex Perez def. Carls John de Tomas via submission (D’Arce choke) – Round 2, 1:54
• Frankie Saenz def. Merab Dvalishvili via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Alejandro Perez def. Iuri Alcantara via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Davi Ramos def. Chris Gruetzemacher via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 0:50
• Trevin Giles def. Antonio Braga Neto via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 2:27

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 123, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan contributed to this report on site in Fresno.)