UFC 168 results, photos: William Macario beats up blood-soaked Bobby Voelker

LAS VEGAS – By the third round of his fight with Bobby Voelker, bleach-blonde Wiliam Macario’s hair was died red from his opponent’s blood.

It was the clearest evidence of the Brazilian’s dominance, though Macario also took home unanimous 30-27 scores from the judges after 15 minutes with Voelker.

The welterweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC 168 event at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It streamed on MMAjunkie ahead of additional prelims on FOX Sports 1 and a main card on pay-per-view.

A tough Voelker came out swinging with big punches in the first frame, and Macario looked to counter. Macario clearly got the better of exchanges, and landed frequently with his right hand.

Midway through the opening round, a surgical Macario appeared a combination or two away from stopping Voelker, whose counters were both slow and predictable. But the Brazilian stayed patient and didn’t overextend himself.

Voelker charged again in the second, but couldn’t find the mobile Macario, who broke up the standup fight with a takedown. When the two found their feet again, however, Macario began to land swarms of punches and elbows on Voelker, who began to bleed generously from cuts. After a doctor’s check, the bout continued, and Voleker kept firing with big punches.

Likely down two rounds, Voelker mounted a final charge in the third. But Macario continued to pepper him with more accurately placed punches.

“I just felt really good out there,” Macario said. “I was loose and was able to implement our game plan. I’m dedicating this fight to my community in Brazil. Voelker is an experienced guy who can take a serious punch, so I knew I had to train hard for this one. I just want to thank my coaches and everyone who supported me for this camp.”

William Macario (7-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC), a veteran of the second season of “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil,” gets back on the winner’s circle following a submission loss to Lenardo Santos in the reality show’s finale at UFC on FUEL TV 10. Strikeforce vet Voelker (24-11 MMA, 0-3 UFC) remains winless in the octagon following losses to Patrick Cote and Robbie Lawler.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 168 results include:

• William Macario def. Bobby Voelker via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Robbie Peralta def. Estevan Payan via knockout (punches) – Round 3, 0:12

For complete coverage of UFC 168, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

John Morgan contributed to this report on-site in Las Vegas.