But moments into the second round, Gamburyan shot in for another takedown and landed hard, dislocating his right shoulder and causing him to tap out from the excruciating pain.
The end came 20 seconds into the round, with Diaz improving to 6-2 with the win. Gamburyan drops to 5-3.
Rising lightweight star Roger Huerta got a scare in his bout against unbeaten UFC debutant Doug Evans, but ‘El Matador’ eventually prevailed, pounding out a second round TKO victory.
Evans, a State champion wrestler in Alaska, showed his grappling and wrestling expertise in the first round, overpowering Huerta and keeping him on the defensive for most of the opening stanza.
Huerta bounced back in the second, showing off some crisp standup work before another Evans takedown. This time though, Huerta fought well on the mat and eventually got his foe’s back. A barrage of unanswered blows then brought in referee Steve Mazzagatti to halt the bout and give Huerta his 20th win against just one loss and one draw. Evans falls to 6-1.
Middleweight up and comer Thales Leites (11-1) put on a groundfighting clinic against Floyd Sword (14-3), eventually submitting the UFC newcomer in the first round. Working from strength to strength on the mat, Leites dominated the New Mexico fighter and easily transitioned from position to position until landing the side choke that ended the bout at the 3:50 mark.
Before season five of The Ultimate Fighter began, many tabbed Massachusetts’ Joe Lauzon as a favorite to win it all. But while that plan didn’t work out, Lauzon moved to 2-0 in his UFC career with a dominating two round win over castmate Brandon Melendez.
