Cruz outpoints Faber in UFC

LAS VEGAS – Dominick Cruz retained the bantamweight title and avenged his only career loss, unanimously outpointing Urijah Faber in a five-round bout in UFC 132 on Saturday night.

Cruz, the aggressor throughout who used his awkward style to land a number of leg kicks and solid strikes. had winning scores of 50-45, 49-46 and 48-47 from the judges.

In the co-main event at MGM Grand Garden Arena, Chris Leben rebounded from a loss in his last fight to stop Wanderlei Silva in 27 seconds.

Leben was briefly stunned by a solid shot from Silva, but countered with a punch that knocked Silva off balance. Leben followed with a flurry of uppercuts that dropped Silva to his knees and the fight was stopped moments later.

On the undercard, former light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz won for the first time in nearly five years with a first-round submission victory over Ryan Bader.

Ortiz sent Bader to the canvas with a short right uppercut, quickly secured a guillotine choke and forced a tap-out at 1:56 of the first round.

Also, Carlos Condit moved a step closer to a title shot with a first-round victory over previously unbeaten contender Kim Dong-hyun. Condit floored Kim with a flying knee and pounced on his downed opponent, forcing the referee to stop the fight at 2:58 of the first round.

Denis Siver earned his fourth straight victory with a unanimous decision over Matt Wiman.