UFC Fight Night 40 results, photos: Soa Palelei crushes Ruan Potts in first

CINCINNATI – Soa Palelei‘s power continues to fuel him to highlight-reel finishes, and this time Ruan Potts played the role of victim.

The heavyweight bout was part of the main card of today’s UFC Fight Night 40 event at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati. It aired on FOX Sports 1 following prelims on FOX Sports 2 and UFC Fight Pass.

Palelei took the center of the cage early but kept his distance until he slipped under a Potts punch and scored a well-timed takedown. Settling on his back, Potts held on to his opponent’s head as long as possible and nearly swept to the top, but Palelei kept the dominant position. Potts tried to counter with a triangle choke, but Palelei pushed it aside and moved to mount, drilling his opponent with a short left hand that left his foe out cold at the 2:20 mark of the first frame.

After the victory, Palelei squeezed in a small bit of praise for his opponent between signing a ballad to the crowd and wishing moms around the world a happy Mother’s Day.

“He’s a tough opponent,” Palelei said. “Anyone that fights in the UFC is tough.”

Palelei (21-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) now boasts an 11-fight winning streak that includes three consecutive UFC appearances. Potts (8-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) comes up short in his UFC debut.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 40 results include:

• Soa Palelei def. Ruan Potts via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 2:20
• Chris Cariaso def. Louis Smolka via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Ed Herman def. Rafael Natal via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Kyoji Horiguchi def. Darrell Montague via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Zak Cummings def. Yan Cabral via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Johnny Eduardo def. Eddie Wineland via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:37
• Nik Lentz def. Manny Gamburyan via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Justin Salas def. Ben Wall via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 2:41
• Anthony Lapsley def. Anthony Lapsley via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 3:56

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 40, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

Matt Erickson contributed to this report on-site in Cincinnati.