GLENDALE, Ariz. – While the fight started a bit on the slow side, Muslim Salikhov eventually picked up his first UFC win with a brutal finish of Ricky Rainey.

The welterweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC on FOX 29 event at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz., near Phoenix. It aired on FOX following additional prelims on UFC Fight Pass and ahead of the main card on FOX.

The two men opened the contest cautiously, tossing out low kicks and studying from range. Salikhov tried a handful of times to move inside, though Rainey was able to push him away each time. Unfortunately, one such defense included an eye poke that caused a brief pause in the action.

Both men fired acrobatic kicks on the restart, and Salikhov snuck in a nice left hand, as well. The two didn’t hesitate to engage, but neither was able to land clean with their most powerful shots. Salikhov eventually caught a kick from his opponent and pushed him to the floor, but he ultimately declined to follow. Both men landed a bit in close quarters before the horn halted the action.

Both men opened the arsenal a bit to start the second. The Salikhov spinning kick was on display, but Rainey also didn’t hesitate to fire kicks and knees to all levels. Despite the creativity in the cage, the fight struggled to really gain a good rhythm – until Salikhov delivered a crushing right hand over the top that sent his opponent crashing to the floor. A few devastating right hands to a downed opponent then sealed the result in brutal fashion with 48 seconds left in the round.

Salikhov (14-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) rebounds from a disappointing loss in his UFC debut, while Rainey (13-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC) sees a two-fight winning streak snapped.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on FOX 29 results include:

• Muslim Salikhov def. Ricky Rainey via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 4:12
• John Moraga def. Wilson Reis via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Brad Tavares def. Krzysztof Jotko via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 2:16
• Gilbert Burns def. Dan Moret via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 0:59
• Lauren Mueller def. Shana Dobson via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Yushin Okami def. Dhiego Lima via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
• Adam Wieczorek def. Arjan Bhullar via submission (omo plata) – Round 2, 1:59
• Alejandro Perez def. Matthew Lopez via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:42
• Luke Sanders def. Patrick Williams via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

For complete coverage of UFC on FOX 29, check out the UFC Events section of the site.