Cain Velasquez put on a dominating performance in the main event at UFC 110 in Sydney, Australia, finishing Antonio Minotauro Nogueira with a first-round knockout in front of a raucous crowd at Acer Arena.

Velasquez, who improved to 8-0 overall and 6-0 in the UFC, finished Big Nog at the 2:30 mark. He closed at an even-money price at most sports books, with Nogueira closing as the minus-130 favorite.

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Velasquez’s performance propels him toward the top of the heavyweight division. If the Frank Mir-Shane Carwin winner is injured and can’t face UFC heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar, Velasquez would probably get a title shot. Whatever the case, his stock is rapidly on the rise after destroying an MMA legend like Nogueira.

Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva dropped down to the middleweight division after five losses in his last six fights. The move was successful as Silva beat Michael Bisping 29-28 on all three judges’ cards to win a unanimous decision.

Bisping has now lost two of his last three fights. He won Round 1, but was nearly choked out at the end of both of the next two rounds. Bisping was saved by the bell both times.

The books got thumped by Silva’s win. He opened at minus-150 but was bet all the way up to minus-200 before entering the octagon.

Aussie George Sotiropoulos was the big money maker on the Sydney card, hooking up his backers with a plus-200 payout (paid $200 on $100 wagers) thanks to a unanimous-decision victory over Joe Stevenson. Sotiropoulos won the bout 30-27 on all three cards. He is now 12-2 overall and 5-0 in the UFC.

Krzysztof Soszynski won a controversial third-round KO victory over Stephan Bonnar when referee John Sharp ruled that a huge gash on Bonnar’s forehead was caused by a punch. However, replays seemed to indicate that the cut was caused by a head butt as both fighters were throwing a punch.

Bonnar has now lost three fights in a row and five of his last seven.

Also on Saturday, the much-anticipated fight between Rampage Jackson and Rashad Evans was confirmed for UFC 114 in Las Vegas. These two were supposed to meet in Jackson’s hometown of Memphis for UFC 107, but Jackson accepted a movie deal to play the role of Mr. T in the “A-Team.”

Brian Edwards can be reached at briane@vegasinsider.com.

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