On a night filled with heavyweights you can always expect first round finishes up and down the card. In the main event for UFC on Fox 13 many thought we would also see that sort of outcome between Junior Dos Santos and Stipe Miocic. While it was not the case, we still watched an amazing bout between two heavyweights in a weekend filled with possible fight of the year battles. Junior Dos Santos won a grueling five round decision over Stipe Miocic while Rafael Dos Anjos once again proved his number one contender ranking with a dominant victory over Nate Diaz. There was also a shake up in the ladies strawweight division as Joanna Jedrzejczyk won a bloody eye poking match against Claudia Gadelha. Another explosive night for the final FOX card of 2014 for the UFC. Heres the main card recap.

PHOENIX, AZ - DECEMBER 13: (L-R) Junior Dos Santos of Brazil punches Stipe Miocic in their heavyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at the U.S. Airways Center on December 13, 2014 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Junior Dos Santos (17-3) is highly regarded as one of the best boxers in mma and tonight at UFC on FOX 13 he landed more significant strikes in route to his win over Stipe Miocic (12-2).The first two rounds were in the favor of Stipe but a hard left hook to the chin dropped him on the third which allowed "Cigano" to take over. Rounds four and five saw huge shots landed by both fighters but a decisive take down by Dos Santos may have made the ultimate difference. The judging went in unanimous favor for Dos Santos which was clearly wrong. Stipe did enough early damage to earn a split or draw in this but his gassing late was the ultimate undoing. One of the reasons the five round fights are so significant is because it truly tests the will of each fighter. It is very possible we could see Junior facing Werdum sometime early next year if Cain is still unable to get back. Still one of the more popular fighters on the roster this bloody battle that will leave JDS scarred for sometime. Though it is just what the UFC needs to sell a pay per view if it gets to that point. As for Stipe it’s back to the drawing board as surely there is a lot to learn from this loss. Next up for him may be a battle with another heavy weight that notched a win tonight in Alistair Overeem or Matt Mitrione.

PHOENIX, AZ - DECEMBER 13: (L-R) Rafael dos Anjos of Brazil kicks Nate Diaz in their lightweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at the U.S. Airways Center on December 13, 2014 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Rafael Dos Anjos (23-7) has no issue taking a risky fight so close to contention for the lightweight division. Taking on a pissed off Nate Diaz (17-10) is never a good thing but with a fighter at the skill level of Dos Anjos it plays right into his hands. Missing weight and walking out of interviews may not be best for business in Dana White’s eyes but it always brings eyes to fights. Tonight the world once again saw a dominant performance by Rafael as he chopped down the long frame of Nate Diaz with leg kicks to the inside and outside that landed often and hard. Nate could barely stand going into the second round and to see him go the distance was a feat upon itself. He pressed on and found guard in the third round but was never able to mount any offense as the elbows of Dos Santos rained down. Dos Anjos did not get the finish he looked for but with two scores of 30-26 there was no way he would be denied. He got the best news of the night after the fight when Dana White announced that he is next in line for Pettis for the 155 title. It should be a classic that we can’t wait to see.

PHOENIX, AZ - DECEMBER 13: Referee John McCarthy stops Alistair Overeem of the Netherlands from punching Stefan Struve of the Netherlands in their heavyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at the U.S. Airways Center on December 13, 2014 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Alistair Overeem (38-14) promised he would finish the fight with Stefan Struve (25-7) in 30 seconds. The fight did not pan out that way but with less than a minute he was able to stop the seven footer and pick up a well deserved win in the octagon. Unable to really mount any offense from the outside Overeem landed a beautiful spinning takedown to mount Struve for the ground and pound. After a moment where it seemed Alistar may let him he jumped into Stefan’s guard and landed two shots to the face that caused the fight to be stopped. Who knows what's next for Reem as it seems as if just when you think he may ascend back up the ranks he has a significant loss. For now this will keep him around the top ten in the heavyweight division and another body for Dana and Lorenzo to plug in if needed.

PHOENIX, AZ - DECEMBER 13: (L-R) Matt Mitrione punches Gabriel Gonzaga of Brazil in their heavyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at the U.S. Airways Center on December 13, 2014 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Another guy in that area that could possibly face Reem is Matt Mitrione (9-3). Tonight he said he has growing up into a better fighter in the octagon and he is spot on. We all knew Gabriel Gonzaga (16-9) presented problems for Matt but his speed made all the difference in the fight. He was able to land clean shots on Gabriel and similar to last fight landed a low punch that hit a charging in Gonzaga straight on the chin to drop him. That was followed by hammer shots but did not prompt Herb Dean to stop the fight. Once Gabriel attempted to get back to his feet Matt hit him with one more right to face that placed him back on the mat. If Matt can put together one more finish early in 2015 then he will be on the outside looking in. Yours truly is curious to who he faces next as there are only a few options left at heavyweight. Still its impressive to see an athlete with his kind of talent hit his stride.

PHOENIX, AZ - DECEMBER 13: (R-L) Claudia Gadelha of Brazil punches Joanna Jedrzejczyk of Poland in their women's strawweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at the U.S. Airways Center on December 13, 2014 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

The undercard for UFC on FOX 13 had it’s moments but the most impressive fight was between two more strawweight contenders in Joanna Jedrzejczyk (8-0) and Claudia Gadelha (12-1) It was a scrappy bout that had a controversial ending but an impressive victory by Jedrzejczyk. It was another action packed weekend for the UFC that ended with a new strawweight champion and a few contenders in waiting. Up next for the UFC is UFC Fight Night Machida - Dollaway on Saturday December 20th. The full results from UFC on Fox 13 are below.

Junior Dos Santos def. Stipe Miocic

unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46) - Round 5, 5:00

Rafael dos Anjos def. Nate Diaz

unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27) - Round 3, 5:00

Alistair Overeem def. Stefan Struve

knockout (punches) - Round 1, 4:13

Matt Mitrione def. Gabriel Gonzaga

TKO (punches) - Round 1, 1:59

PRELIMINARY CARD

FOX Sports 1, 5 p.m. ET

Joanna Jedrzejczyk def. Claudia Gadelha

split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) - Round 3, 5:00

John Moraga def. Willie Gates

submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 3, 4:06

Ben Saunders def. Joe Riggs

submission (injury) - Round 1, 0:57

Jamie Varner def. Drew Dober

submission (rear-naked choke - Round 1, 1:52

Bryan Barberena def. Joe Ellenberger

TKO (strikes) - Round 3, 3:24

PRELIMINARY CARD

UFC Fight Pass, 3:30 p.m. ET

David Michaud def. Garett Whiteley

unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) - Round 3, 5:00

Henry Cejudo def. Dustin Kimura

unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) - Round 3, 5:00

Ian Entwistle def. Anthony Birchak

submission (heel hook) - Round 1, 1:04

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About the author
Travis Brown
Travis has been covering the sport of mixed martial arts for the past three years. He has been a fan of combat sports all of his life and looks to bring his bettors perspective to the Vavel family. Mixed Martial Arts is a global sports and there is no better place for it than Vavel.