Vitor Belfort added to his list of incredible knockouts in MMA with a stunning spinning heel kick that dispatched of Luke Rockhold in the UFC on FX 8 main event on Saturday evening.

It was the Americans debut in the UFC on Saturday night, coming into the bout on the back of nine straight victories in Strikeforce, he was looking to make an impression almost immediately with an adventurous head kick. The athletic California native slipped however landing on his back but managing to scramble back to his feet almost instantly.

Rockhold had outlined his intent but after slipping could only draw more jeers from the fanatical Brazilian crowd. As the crowd came alive, they seemed to breathe life into the veteran Belfort as the opening two minutes passed with the fight remaining competitive.

The use of TRT has perhaps tainted Belfort’s career and leaves many undecided on the storied fighter. However, what cannot be denied is that ‘The Phenom’ produces some incredible finishes and was about to add to this highlight reel.

With Rockhold’s arms slightly low, the 36 year old expertly calculated a spinning heel kick which landed plum on the face of his adversary Rockhold, who instantly dropped to this knees. Pouncing on his injured prey, Belfort jumped in with punches but he could not land more than two before the referee intervened.

After the explosive ending, the crowd erupted as Belfort soaked up the moment.

Training out of the ‘Blackzilians’ camp in Boca Raton, Florida, the former UFC Light Heavyweight champion stated in his post-fight interview, “I’m stronger than ever!” and was keen to praise his camp saying, “I have a great team in the Blackzilians”. Belfort addressed the home crowd in his native tongue of Portuguese before attention turned to a crestfallen Rockhold.

The former Strikeforce Middleweight champion commented, “I take my hat off to him”. Obviosuly disappointed, Rockhold was gracious in defeat and was keen to move on, “I just want to get back in the gym and get another fight, I’m speechless”.

Elsewhere on the card in the co-main event Ronaldo Souza won via submission against Chris Camozzi. Souza took his tally of submission victories in his MMA career to 14 as the 33 year old entered the UFC in style. ‘Jacare’ (The Alligator) has many strings to his bow with good wrestling and judo as the fighter out of ‘Black House’ gym dominated the encounter on the ground. His passing on the ground was fluid and it only took him three minutes and thirty seven seconds to put Camozzi to sleep with an arm triangle choke.

Post-fight Souza heaped praise on the immense crowd for not allowing him to get the jitters and declared his intention to go to the top of the UFC Middleweight division stating he wanted the winner of the night’s main event to be his next opponent.

In one of the evenings more controversial results Rafael dos Anjos defeated Evan Dunham via unanimous decision leaving many shocked. Again, the American, Dunham faced the hostile crowd as they voiced their loud opinions on the slow start that fight took. With 14 submission victories between the pair the fight would likely be taken to the ground and was on the mat until the referee stood the fighters with the clock approaching the end of round one. Dos Anjos was landing some good combinations in a fast paced second however an accidental head butt left a cut on the 28 year olds right eye. Dunham was applying the best pressure and persistence as the second round faded away.

“He makes mistakes when you apply pressure so do so” was the message from Dos Anjos’ corner before the third round began and the Brazilian did come out with a good tempo. The fighters exchanged with a flurry of punches as the fight could have gone either way. It was a brilliantly competitive fight between two determined men with the judges handed the unanimous decision victory to Rafael Dos Anjos.

The result led to an outcry on Twitter from the MMA world with even UFC President Dana White tweeting, “Dunham got ROBBED!”

Rafael Natal and Joao Zeferino were the fighters who got the main card underway as Natal came out victorious via unanimous decision. Zeferino fighting on short notice looked physically drained toward the end of the fight as conditioning was perhaps the biggest factor in Natal picking up the victory.

Results from the Preliminary card are below:

Preliminary card (Fuel TV) -

Nik Lentz def. Hacran Dias via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-27)

Francisco Trinaldo def. Mike Rio via Submission (arm triangle choke) Round 1 3:08

Gleison Tibau def. John Cholish via Submission (guillotine choke) Round 2 2:34

Paulo Thiago def. Michel Prazeres Decision via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Yuri Alcantara def. Iliarde Santos via TKO (punches) Round 1 2:31

Fabio Maldonado def. Roger Hollett via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28, 29-27)

Preliminary card (Facebook) -

John Lineker def. Azamat Gashimov via TKO (punches) Round 2 1:07

Jussier Formiga def. Chris Cariaso via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Lucas Martins def. Jeremy Larsen via KO (punch) Round 3 0:13