UFC on FOX 10 results, photos: Daron Cruickshank stuns Mike Rio with spinning finish

CHICAGO – A battle of “The Ultimate Fighter 15? cast members saw striking specialist Daron Cruickshank earn an impressive TKO win over gritty grappler Mike Rio.

The lightweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC on FOX 10 event at United Center in Chicago. It aired on FOX Sports 1 after an additional prelim on UFC Fight Pass and ahead of the main card on FOX.

The fight started out at a moderate pace, but both fighters began to open up as the first round unfolded. The highlight came in the final minute, when a Cruickshank left high kick scored flush and dropped his opponent. Rio crawled back to his feet, only to be blasted by short punches and elbows on the feet that nearly ended the fight.

Rio tried to turn to his wrestling in the second, but Cruickshank defended the effort and returned to striking from distance. A game Rio pushed forward and looked to strike, but the variety of blows to all levels saw his opponent start to pull away. When Rio missed on a takedown and wound up on his back, it looked to be a good moment for Cruickshank, but it nearly proved disastrous.

Once on the floor, Rio turned to a heel hook that threatened to end the fight, as he twisted and folded Cruickshank’s left leg. However, Cruickshank patiently waited and countered before working back to the feet and delivering an incredible spinning wheel kick to the head that dazed his opponent. Cruickshank saw the opportunity and followed up with a flurry of punches that forced referee Herb Dean to stop the fight with just four seconds left in the round and save a dazed Rio.

After the win, Cruickshank said he set up the finishing blow with earlier kicks to the body and predicted similar performances are on the horizon.

“I feel like I could do that every single time,” Cruickshank said.

Daron Cruickshank (14-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) rebounds from a disappointing loss to Adriano Martins. After winning his UFC debut, Rio (9-4 MMA, 1-3 UFC) has now dropped three consecutive fights.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on FOX 10 results include:

For the latest on UFC on FOX 10, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

Matt Erickson contributed to this report on-site in Chicago.