[sigallery id=”M9nq59cdVAKZGUVr32wtDL” title=”Nogueira def. Cummins, UFC 198″ type=”sigallery”]

CURITIBA, Brazil – Antonio Rogerio Nogueira’s right hook started the trouble for Patrick Cummins, and his straight left finished it.

After dropping Cummins (8-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC) earlier in the opening round, Nogueira (22-7 MMA, 5-4 UFC) poured on the punishment in the final minute, eventually forcing the TKO stoppage at the 4:52 mark of Round 1.

The light heavyweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC 198 event at Arena da Baixada in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil. It streamed on UFC Fight Pass ahead of additional prelims on FOX Sports 1 and a main card on pay-per-view.

In many ways, it was a classic “Little Nog” fight. After using the first few minutes to find his range against the circling Cummins, Nogueira began to paw forward with the right before lashing out in easy, fierce strokes with the left.

Still, it was Nogueira’s right hook that first stunned Cummins at the tail end of a striking exchange. The punch clipped him on the jaw and dropped Cummins, though he bolted back to his feet quickly, trying to find his legs.

Nogueira, however, wasn’t about to let him off the hook. The Brazilian came forward and battered Cummins with repeated left hands against the cage, forcing Cummins to look for a takedown out of sheer desperation. Nogueira defended that easily, then began pounding Cummins with hammerfists until Cummins worked back to his feet.

Once there, the torrent of straight lefts from Nogueira resumed, and this time Cummins had no answer. With the fence helping to prop up his sagging body, Cummins was an easy target for Nogueira right up until referee Leon Roberts decided he’d seen enough, jumping in with less than 10 seconds left in the round to call it off.

“The crowd really supported me,” Nogueira said. “When I saw the fans, I really went there to win. Curitiba is special. This win puts me higher in the rankings. The important thing was come back and show to the people that I am alive, that I am a contender. Cummins is a very tough younger guy. A knockout like this one shows that I am very well-trained.”

The win is Nogueira’s first since February 2013, snapping a two-fight losing streak. Cummins has now lost two straight.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 198 results include:

• Antonio Rogerio Nogueira def. Patrick Cummins via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:42
• Luan Chagas vs. Sergio Moraes declared split draw (29-28, 28-29, 28-28)
• Renato Moicano def. Zubaira Tukhugov via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

For complete coverage of UFC 198, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan, Mike Bohn and Fernanda Prates contributed to this report on site in Brazil.)