By Josh Sanchez

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to Atlantic City, New Jersey, Saturday night for UFC Fight Night 128. It marked the first time since July 2014 that the UFC made the trip to Atlantic City and the first time that they held an event at Boardwalk Hall since June 2005. 

Headlining the Fight Night event on FOX Sports 1 was a lightweight bout between top contenders Kevin Lee and Edson Barboza. 

In the co-main event, former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar entered the Octagon against perennial featherweight contender Cub Swanson in what promised to be a thrilling matchup. 

Lee vs. Barboza Recap

Both men immediately met in the center of the Octagon and were looking to establish their jabs to control the pace. Lee kept the pressure on Barboza in an effort to avoid allowing the Brazilian to get comfortable at range and fire off his deadly kicks. 

Eventually, Lee charged Barboza and landed a successful takedown. Barboza was using an active guard as he attempted to get back to his feet, but Lee was able to posture up and inflict damage with some heavy hammer fists. Lee then transitioned to mount and was raining down some heavy ground-and-pound. 

Lee bean mixing elbows into his assault and Barboza was wearing visible damage on his face. Lee completely dominated the opening round.

The second round was much of the same for Lee, scoring a takedown and overwhelming an exhausted Edson Barboza on the mat. In the third round, Barboza made a stunning turnaround and had Lee on the ropes with a spinning headkick. 

Unreal!!! #UFCAC pic.twitter.com/Q1c2QeIvGA

— FloCombat (@FloCombat) April 22, 2018

Lee ultimately landed a takedown to avoid further damage and regained his composure. Both men continued to throw heavy strikes to open Round 4, with Lee showing off his chin by eating a heavy left and another head kick before finding the takedown once again. Once on the mat, Lee was able to reestablish his dominance from the top.

The continued onslaught of ground-and-pound from Lee continued into Round 5 when, on the advice of the cage-side physicians, referee Keith Peterson was forced to call an end to the fight.

Full UFC Fight Night 128 Results: 

• Kevin Lee def. Edson Barboza via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) - Round 5, 2:18

• Frankie Edgar def. Cub Swanson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

• Justin Willis def. Chase Sherman via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

• David Branch def. Thiago “Marreta” Santos via KO (strikes) - Round 1, 2:30

• Aljamain Sterling def. Brett Johns via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

• Dan Hooker def. Jim Miller via knockout (knee, punch) – Round 1, 3:00

• Ryan LaFlare def. Alex Garcia via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

• Ricky Simon def. Merab Dvalishvili via TKO – Round 3, 5:00

• Siyar Bahadurzada def. Luan Chagas via KO (body kick, punch) – Round 2, 2:40

• Corey Anderson def. Patrick Cummins via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)

• Tony Martin def. Keita Nakamura via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)