LAS VEGAS » It was very short and very sweet for Hawaii resident Chris Leben Saturday night.

Leben rebounded from a loss in his last fight to stop Wanderlei Silva in 27 seconds in the co-main event of UFC 132 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

"Wanderlei is my hero. He’s always been my favorite fighter,"said Leben, who lives in Kaneohe. "I only visualized a three-round war. I never envisioned a knockout.

"I can’t believe it’s real."

Leben was briefly stunned by a solid shot from Silva, but countered with a punch that knocked Silva off balance. Leben followed with a flurry of uppercuts that dropped Silva to his knees and the fight was stopped moments later.

Leben improved to 26-7 overall and 12-6 in the UFC with his fourth victory in his last five fights. It was the 14th knockout of his pro career.

In the other headline event, Dominick Cruz retained the bantamweight title and avenged his only career loss, unanimously outpointing Urijah Faber in a five-round bout.

Cruz, the aggressor throughout who utilized his awkward style to land a number of kicks and solid strikes, had winning scores of 50-45, 49-46 and 48-47 to improve to 18-1.

"This fight tells me a lot about myself," Cruz said. "I lost to him four years (ago) and it’s harder to lose and come back than it is to win and keep winning. … He’s a tough veteran and you have to give it up to him."

Faber kept the fight close, landing numerous power shots and dropping Cruz twice with straight right hands.

"I knew it would be a tough fight," Faber said. "I felt like it could have gone either way, but I thought I won the fight."

On the undercard, former light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz won for the first time in nearly five years with a first-round submission victory over Ryan Bader.

Ortiz sent Bader to the canvas with a short right uppercut, quickly secured a guillotine choke and forced a tap-out at 1:56 of the first round.

Also, Carlos Condit moved a step closer to a title shot with a first-round victory over previously unbeaten contender Kim Dong-hyun. Condit floored Kim with a flying knee and pounced on his downed opponent, forcing the referee to stop the fight at 2:58 of the first round.

Denis Siver earned his fourth straight victory with a unanimous decision over Matt Wiman.

In the preliminary bouts, Melvin Guillard and Rafael Dos Anjos had first-round knockouts, and Brian Bowles, Aaron Simpson, Anthony Njokuani and Jeff Hougland won unanimous decisions.

Simpson (9-2) handed Hawaii’s Brad Tavares his first professional loss, winning 30-27 on all three judges scorecards.

Tavares is now 7-1.

The Star-Advertiser’s Billy Hull contributed to this report