UFC Fight Night 123 results: Trevin Giles' boxing on point for third-round TKO of Antonio Braga Neto

When Trevin Giles was on the feet with Antonio Braga Neto, it was nothing but a mismatch.

Giles (11-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) had to weather a first-round ground game storm from Neto (9-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC), who was fighting for the first time in three and a half years. But thanks to his boxing on point all fight, Giles picked up a TKO with a pair of huge rights midway through the third. The stoppage from UFC veteran-turned-ref Frank Trigg came at the 2:27 mark of the round.

The middleweight bout opened up the preliminary card of today’s UFC Fight Night 123 event at Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif. It streamed on UFC Fight Pass ahead of the rest of the card on FS1.

Giles started after Neto quicly, no doubt wanting to put the pressure on him given his long layoff. Giles popped off a perfect left jab several times and bloodied Neto up early. Neto threw a leg kick that landed. A minute in, Giles slipped, but Neto couldn’t take a dvantage. Two minutes in, Giles came forward and looked to connect – but Neto dodged it, clinched Giles up and dragged him to the canvas along the fence. Neto went to work in half-guard and tried to land ground-and-pound. Braga looked for submission opportunities, and with a minute left Giles had to give up full mount. He survived to see the second round, but it was a big return for Neto.

Neto opened the second with a leg kick, then tried a straight kick up the middle. Giles returned to his jab, then bombed away with solid left hooks. Neto landed a solid counter left a minute in, but Giles clearly had the advantage in the standup game, and a right cross was on the money followed by a leg kick. Midway through, Neto landed a right, then a punch to the body and got Giles to back up. They rocked each other after that, but Giles stayed patient. With two minutes left, Giles landed a two-punch combo, but Neto tried to return fire. In the final minute, Giles continued to drill Neto with his powerful jab, and Neto continued to pay the price for not taking the fight to the canvas.

Giles came out swinging in the third and rarely missed with his jab. Thirty seconds in, Neto tracked him down and worked for a takedown. He got it and put Giles’ back on the canvas. But in the process of trying to take Giles’ back, Neto slipped off and had to go back to his feet. Ninety seconds in, Giles landed a big right hand, then dropped his hands and showboated a little, knowing almost none of his punches were missing. Giles started lighting Neto up, and near the halfway mark, he landed two vicious right hands that put Neto on the canvas for the knockout.

Giles stayed unbeaten and won for the second time under the UFC banner. Neto lost for the second straight time – though his most recent fight was three and a half years ago.

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

• 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.)