UFC: Cody Garbrandt wins bantamweight showdown

UFC Fight Night 88 in Las Vegas on Sunday night was designed to produce a new star in the bantamweight division, as unbeaten, hard-hitting 24-year-olds Cody Garbrandt and Thomas Almeida squared off.

The matchup served its purpose, as Garbrandt (9-0), of Sacramento, put on a show in front of a national television audience with a first-round knockout at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

A big right cross sent Almeida (21-1), of Sao Paulo, Brazil, crashing to the mat to end the fight at 2:53 of the first round.

"I came in here on Memorial Day weekend, and I delivered," said Garbrandt after his eighth career knockout. "I'm the hardest hitter in the division, and I'll knock out anyone in the division."

In the evening's co-feature bout, former UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao of Brazil looked to make a new start at featherweight. However, San Diego's Jeremy Stephens proved to be a rude host.

Stephens absorbed a fast start by Barao in the opening round, then punished him with brutal uppercuts in the second. Stephens (25-12) controlled things the rest of the way and earned a unanimous decision on 29-28 scores across the board, sending Barao to his third loss in his past four fights.

"Renan Barao's a true champion," said Stephens, who has won two of his past three. "But he should be at 135 (pounds), he shouldn't be up at 145 fighting guys like me."

Dallas welterweight Rick Story was out of the Octagon nearly two years due to various injuries, but his return was worth the wait. Story (19-8) looked sharp as he outstruck Montreal's Tarec Saffiedine (16-5), making Saffiedine look like the rusty fighter in Story's unanimous decision win.

The judges' scores were a pair of 29-28s and a 30-27.

"It was great to finally get back in there," said Story, who has won three straight and four of five. "A lot has changed in the division in the last two years, but I feel like I'm ready to get right back in there with the best of them."

Colorado's Chris Camozzi is putting together a run in the middleweight division. Camozzi (24-10) beat Brazil's Vitor Miranda (12-5) in every aspect of their fight, from the standup to the grappling game, and earned 30-27 scores across the board from the judges. That marked three straight victories for Camozzi and five in his past six fights.

Camozzi indicated he wants to fight a ranked foe next.

"I don't really care who it is," Camozzi said. "It's just a body for me, but for me to go up the rankings, I need to fight guys above me."

A brutal eye poke that inexplicably went unpenalized helped make the difference in the fight between Lorenz Larkin of Riverside, Calif., and Jorge Masvidal of Coconut Creek, Fla. Larkin lunged forward with an index finger extended and caught Masvidal in the right eye during the first round. The foul was ruled accidental, meaning there was not a point deduction.

That made the difference in a razor-tight, back-and-forth welterweight fight. Larkin (17-5, 1 NC) got the nod with two out of three 29-28 scores, sending the hard-luck Masvidal (29-11) to his third split-decision loss in his past four fights.

"Keep him guessing, that's what my coaches were saying," Larkin said. "Don't just stick to the same thing. That's what I did, and it paid off."

In the main-card opener, Philadelphia kickboxer Paul Felder (12-2) outworked tough veteran Joshua Burkman of Utah for a unanimous decision. Burkman (28-13, 1 NC) controlled the tempo in the opening round. However, Felder turned the tide in his favor in the second with a fight-changing elbow, then put a stamp on things in the third with a knee in the clinch that broke Burkman's nose.

The judges scored the fight 29-28 across the board for Felder, who won his second straight fight.

"I couldn't find my range at all in the first round," Felder said. "We knew we had to come out and have a really good second round, and I caught him with that elbow."