Cain Velasquez stops Junior Dos Santos in 5th at UFC 166 to retain heavyweight title

Jeremy Rakes, The Associated Press

HOUSTON - Cain Velasquez stopped Junior Dos Santos in the fifth round Saturday night at UFC 166 to retain the heavyweight title.

Dos Santos came out firing to start the final round, but Velasquez (13-1) worked him down to the mat only to have Dos Santos (16-3) get back up against the Octagon walls.

The two traded lefts before Velasquez landed a left and took Dos Santos down head-first to the mat, causing referee Herb Dean to stop the bout at 3:09.

The fight was third between the two. Dos Santos beat Velasquez in 1:04 in the first meeting in 2011, and Velasquez won the second by unanimous decision in 2012.

In the co-main event, Daniel Cormier (13-0) unanimously outpointed Roy Nelson (20-9) in a heavyweight bout, with all three judges scoring it 30-27.