UFC Fight Night 45 results: Aljamain Sterling gets late TKO over Hugo Viana

ATLANTIC CITY – With a steady, often unorthodox attack, Aljamain Sterling (10-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) wore down and overwhelmed Hugo Viana (8-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) en route to a TKO victory due to punches and elbows from the mount at the 3:50 mark of Round 3.

The bantamweight bout was part of today’s UFC Fight Night 45 preliminary card at Revel Casino Hotel in Atlantic City. It aired on FOX Sports 1 following a single prelim on UFC Fight Pass.

Although Sterling started things off with a wide array of kicks that mostly succeeded at keeping Viana at a distance, it was his ground game that ultimately won him the fight. In the second and third rounds, Sterling transitioned smoothly from takedowns to ground-and-pound, keeping Viana constantly on the defensive, and possibly depleting his gas tank in the process.

Midway through the third round Sterling claimed full mount and managed to flatten out Viana before unleashing a vicious assault of elbows and punches that had referee Liam Kerrigan taking a closer look.

Viana attempted to roll away from the onslaught, but Sterling managed to trap him on his side as he battered him with hammerfists to the side of the head until Kerrigan had finally seen enough, stepping in to wave it off.

The win keeps Sterling’s perfect record intact and earns him his first victory via stoppage in the UFC. Viana has now lost two of his past three.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 45 results include:

For more on UFC Fight Night 45, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

(John Morgan contributed to this report on site in Atlantic City)