Dillashaw dominated the bout early on, repeatedly connecting on vicious left hands while blocking Barao's leg kicks. He had the Brazilian pinned against the cage late in the third round, but Barao managed to survive Dillashaw's onslaught.
Dillashaw went for the kill early in the fourth round, connecting on a left hook that stunned Barao, then unleashing a flurry of punches that forced referee Herb Dean to stop the fight.
The end came for Barao just 35 seconds into the fourth round.
"I came in a little more aggressive in the beginning," said Dillashaw, who defended his belt for the second time. "I tested my will and saw how much I wanted to go, but ultimately, I train harder than he does, in my mind."
Barao was clearly breathing hard by the end of the second round and looked to be on his last legs by the time the bell rang to signal the end of the third round.
He briefly complained to the referee when the bout was stopped, but it was clear that Barao had no answer for the faster Dillashaw.
"It looks good, man," Dillashaw said after watching a replay of his fight-ending flurry on the United Center's big screen. "I'm really proud of my performance."
"I got hit more than I wanted to, but Barao is a killer, man. He's good," he added.
The bout was a rematch of Dillashaw and Barao's UFC 173 meeting, which saw Dillashaw stop Barao in the fifth round to win the UFC bantamweight title and earn Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night honors.
Dillashaw also won Performance of the Night honors for UFC on FOX 16.
In the undercard, Miesha Tate defeated Jessica Eye via unanimous decision to potentially earn another shot at the UFC women's bantamweight title.
Tate won with scores of 30-27 across the board for her 17th career victory.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
