Stipe Miocic defends title with knockout of Junior dos Santos

— -- DALLAS -- UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic produced a quick, violent first-round knockout over Junior dos Santos on Saturday inside American Airlines Center -- then he wished all the moms out there a Happy Mother's Day.

Miocic (17-2) proved himself to be the baddest man on the planet again at UFC 211, rocking dos Santos with a right hand before finishing him off just 2:22 into their heavyweight title fight.

The victory marks Miocic's second title defense, which moves him into a tie for the most consecutive heavyweight title defenses in UFC history.

"We worked on that for 10 weeks," said Miocic, referring to the crushing right hand that put dos Santos away.

Fighting out of Independence, Ohio, Miocic afterward joked with UFC commentator Joe Rogan that his next stop would be in his kitchen. The outgoing but short-worded champion then thanked the city of Dallas and gave a shoutout to all the mothers in the world.

Saturday's fight was a stark difference from a previous meeting between Miocic and dos Santos. In 2014, dos Santos won a hard-fought five-round decision over Miocic in Phoenix. Since that loss, Miocic is 5-0 with five knockouts.

Miocic's game plan was very clear from the beginning. He crowded dos Santos with jabs and right hands, constantly cutting off the cage and putting dos Santos against the fence. Dos Santos tried to answer with counter left hands -- a punch that knocked Miocic down in 2014 -- but was unsuccessful Saturday night.

A step-in right hand sent dos Santos into a face plant along the fence. Referee Herb Dean gave him an opportunity to recover, but he could only put his hands defensively over his head. Miocic crouched and threw left hands until Dean stepped in to stop the fight.

It's the third time dos Santos has been knocked out in his professional career. It is also the quickest anyone has ever done it.

Miocic's next challenger is unclear. Former champion Fabricio Werdum (21-6-1), whom Miocic took the title from last year, could be in line for a rematch if he's able to defeat Alistair Overeem at UFC 213 in July.