CHICAGO – It wasn’t the prettiest thing you’ve ever seen, but Chris de la Rocha (5-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) survived a vicious Rashad Coulter (8-4 MMA, 0-3 UFC) onslaught in the opening round before battling back to a finish in the second.

The heavyweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC 225 event at United Center in Chicago. It aired on FS1 following additional prelims on UFC Fight Pass and ahead of a main card on pay-per-view.

The two heavyweights opened with a quick pace, with each man swinging hard from range and looking to keep the action high. De La Rocha eventually was able to slip inside and work the clinch, and Coulter had to battle against the cage. De La Rocha took advantage of the proximity, latching on to a guillotine choke as the action transitioned to the floor. After several tense moments, Coulter popped his head free and looked to escape, but when he turned, De La Rocha happily jumped on his back. Coulter wisely kept his chin tucked and tried to peel his opponent’s arm away, eventually crawling up to his feet and again teeing off with massive punches.

De La Rocha’s face was bloodied, but Coulter stopped himself from being overaggressive, instead calming down and picking his shots. De La Rocha was wobbled but wouldn’t drop, answering with big punches of his own. Somehow, both men stayed on their feet, the crowd relishing every haymaker thrown. De La Rocha pushed inside and scored a takedown late in the round, but Coulter held tight and was able to halt any offense until the bell.

It was De La Rocha who landed first to start the second round, lacing in a clean right hand that buckled his opponent’s knees. That allowed De La Rocha to push inside and take the fight to the floor, working quickly to the back and looking for the rear-naked choke. Coulter kept his chin tucked, and De La Rocha eventually let go, turning instead to punches. Referee Kevin MacDonald watched closely, but the blows lacked enough sting to stop the fight. Still De La Rocha was firmly in control of the position, and Coulter struggled to find a way back to his feet.

The crowd clamored for a standup, but with De La Rocha in back control, MacDonald couldn’t oblige. Coulter tried to buck and roll, but De La Rocha strung together a few clean shots, and the fight was stopped at the 3:53 mark of the frame. Coulter objected the decision, to no avail.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 225 results include:

• Chris De La Rocha def. Rashad Coulter via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:53
• Anthony Smith def. Rashad Evans via knockout (knee) – Round 1, 0:53
• Sergio Pettis def. Joseph Benavidez via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
• Charles Oliveira def. Clay Guida via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 2:18
• Dan Ige def. Mike Santiago via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:50

For complete coverage of UFC 225, check out the UFC Events section of the site.