Michael McDonald has been considered one of the top prospects in the bantamweight division for a while. Tonight, he arrived as a true contender with a first-round knockout of former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres. A big uppercut followed by two more punches put Torres on his back, and a bunch of nasty shots on the floor put Miguel's lights out at the 3:18 mark of the first round.

Torres looked to establish range immediately, but McDonald stepped in and clipped him a couple of times. Both fighters threw a few feints, but it was McDonald that finally came forward again and caught Torres with a few shots against the fence. Torres responded with a couple of right hooks. McDonald landed some inside strikes, and Torres lost his mouthpiece. McDonald landed a monster uppercut out of nowhere, then followed it up with a jab and a second uppercut that dropped Torres. A few more strikes on the ground and the referee was forced to jump in and call off the bout.

Torres had won two of three bouts coming in, most recently defeating Nick Pace by decision at UFC 139. This was his first bout since his UFC release and subsequent re-hiring for an inappropriate tweet. McDonald entered the bout with a 3-0 record in the UFC, most recently knocking out late replacement Alex Soto at UFC 139. He picked up a $70,000 knockout of the night bonus for the finish.

SBN coverage of UFC 145: Jones vs. Evans