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Heavyweights Alistair Overeem and Junior dos Santos met for the co-main event of UFC on Fox 18 in Orlando, Florida. After a fairly inactive first round, Overeem stopped the fight at the end of the second round with a big left and hammer fists.

This marked eighth-ranked Overeem's 55th fight. The Dutch kickboxer has wins over Frank Mir, Brock Lesnar, Roy Nelson, and current heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum. Dos Santos was the No. 2-ranked UFC heavyweight going into the fight, with significant wins over former heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, Frank Mir, Mark Hunt, and Stipe Miocic.

They dance around for an entire minute before dos Santos throws a leg kick—the first strike of the fight—that doesn't connect. Dos Santos throws a jab that doesn't connect and a right shortly afterward that also doesn't connect. They exchange kicks at the same time. Dos Santos throws a head kick that Overeem blocks and Overeem seems fine.

Overeem throws a knee to the body, and dos Santos follows with a jab. Dos Santos throws a leg kick. Overeem throws a leg kick and then lands a good left, causing dos Santos' nose to bleed. So far in this fight, there have been almost exclusively single strikes thrown—no combinations. Cigano throws a spinning kick Overeem is ready for, and he takes Cigano's back. He's looking to set up a takedown, but the round ends before he can.

Overeem starts the round by throwing an outside leg kick, but dos Santos throws a front kick directly to the groin, and the fight is halted. Time restarts after Overeem had time to recover, and they both start off throwing kicks. Overeem throws a body kick, followed by a leg kick that dos Santos checks. At 90 seconds into Round 2, the fight is still fairly inactive. Dos Santos throws a spinning heel kick that misses. The round continues with it's a slow pace, with infrequent strikes thrown.

Neither fighter appears to be taking much damage. Overeem lands a good left in a combination, opening up a cut on dos Santos' cheek. Dos Santos throws some strikes, backs Overeem up against the cage, and lands some body shots before Overeem can take the fight back to the center. Overeem lands a left hook right on dos Santos' jaw, snapping Cigano's head back. Cigano drops, and while he's not completely out, he's clearly hurt and dazed. Overeem's follow-up hammer-fists cause referee Dan Miragliotta to step in and stop the fight at 4:43.

In his post-fight speech, Overeem said, “Junior is a very dangerous opponent. He throws bombs. He throws strong, so we had to have a game plan and figure out his rhythm then slowly pick him apart. He's very dangerous and strong. I had to figure him out; I feel confident with the team around me. Thank(s) all of you guys. I feel confident for the next title shot.”

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