Jared Cannonier scored the biggest win of his career Saturday night in Rio de Janeiro at UFC 237, scoring a TKO victory over Anderson Silva late in the first round. The stoppage came at 4:47 of the first round after Silva’s right leg absorbed the last of many inside leg kicks from Cannonier and the all-time great fell to the mat, screaming in pain.

Cannonier attempted to follow up on the mat with strikes but the referee wisely stepped in and called a halt to the action. Up to that point the fight was closely fought, with Silva feinting and looking to counter as Cannonier stalked him, scored multiple right hands to the head near the fence as well as the aforementioned inside leg kicks.

Before conducting his postfight interview, Cannonier went to check on Silva as he sat on his stool. The longtime former champion rose to his feet to embrace the American and assured him, saying, “good job, buddy. It’s OK. Good job.”

The fans in attendance made no effort to reflect the athletes’ class and booed Cannonier even as he praised Silva’s courage. The rising contender made clear that he respects “The Spider” while also standing up for himself by specifying that he did not similarly respect the booing fans.

“First off, I want to say, thank you to Anderson Silva,” Cannonier said, after a long pause as the fans booed.

“I really appreciate the opportunity to step in here. He didn’t have to fight me. He could have fought anyone he wanted to … The crowd is a different story. They don’t respect me, I don’t respect them. It’s as simple as that.”

The win is Cannonier’s second-straight TKO, as he improves his record to 12-4. Silva, whose own record now falls to 34-10-1, apologized for his latest loss.

“I just couldn’t hold up,” the 44-year-old told the fans, afterward.

“I’m sorry.”

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