Not too long ago, Mark Coleman headlined UFC 109 facing Randy Couture. Several days later, he’s apparently no longer good enough to remain in the UFC at all. On Wednesday, following a lopsided loss to Couture the UFC released Coleman from his contract and cut the veteran heavyweight. Coleman is now free to sign with any other promotion, but at 46 years of age his most likely-and most advisable-course of action is retirement.

Coleman became the first UFC fighter to be cut immediately after headlining a PPV event. Others have left due to drug test failures or for other opportunities, but none have ever been cut from their contract. Sources close to the UFC suggest that it was a decision no one wanted to make, but that all felt was unavoidable due to Coleman’s age and deteriorating skills. On the other hand, its interesting that the UFC sees fit to keep any number of other aging fighters with deteriorating skills on the payroll but not a Hall of Famer in Coleman.

While the fact that Coleman is a shell of the fighter he was at his prime, the UFC’s suggestion that they have his best interest at heart is somewhat duplicitous. He was kept around and booked into last Saturday’s fight-a fight that no one particularly had any interest in seeing in the first place-simply because he was a fighter that Randy Couture could beat. Were the UFC interested in the well being of their aging fighters there’s several others on the roster that should also be cut for the same justification as Coleman. Couture, Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell are all well past their prime but they’re still under contract and will all likely fight again.

Coleman’s age has never been a secret and his diminished skill level was evident to anyone who has watched his recent fights. If the UFC was really interested in his physical well being, the main event against Couture should have never taken place. The fight itself wasn’t exactly one that UFC fans had been clamoring for and one that met with derision from the MMA media from the time it was announced.

While retirement would be in Coleman’s best interest, he may attempt to fight in a smaller US promotion or in Japan where he’s well known from his time in PRIDE. He’s already a member of the UFC Hall of Fame with a 26-10 career record and has fought the best in the world including Fedor Emelianenko, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Mirko Cro Cop. He has a family and kids so his best future would be out of the ring but few fighters have been able to make a clean break from the sport.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on baseball betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva had lost a lot of his luster coming into Saturday nights UFC 101 matchup with former light heavyweight champ Forrest Griffin. He was undefeated in his previous nine UFC contests, but his last three victories had been far from impressive. In his most recent bout, he’d pouted and showboated his way to a unanimous decision victory by default against a thoroughly overwhelmed Thales Leites. On that night in Montreal he’d heard an abundance of boos from the fans who at one point started a GSP chant in reference to his most frequent challenger for pound for pound MMA supremacy. Even Dana White criticized his effort and finally conceded that St. Pierre might, indeed, be the best all around fighter in the game.

There was none of the bad Silva on display at UFC 101. Silva was simply dominant as he overwhelmed the naturally larger Griffin, knocking his opponent down three times before finishing the fight with a spectacular”yet almost effortless”straight right hand. The TKO victory was The Spiders most impressive showing since his submission triumph over Dan Henderson at UFC 82. Ironically, Hendo”off his own devastating KO victory over Michael Bisping at UFC 100″will likely be Silvas next challenger for his middleweight title.

The live crowd in Philadelphia clearly favored the likable Griffin and gave him a huge ovation as he bounced to the ring to his trademark walk-in song Shipping Up To Boston by the Dropkick Murphys. Silva, meanwhile, received a smattering of boos as he confidently strode to the ring to the sound of Aint No Sunshine by rapper DMX. Silva displayed much more humility toward the fans than he has in his recent outings, bowing in all four directions after the entered the cage.

He displayed none of that courtesy toward Griffin once the fight began and was simply the wrecking machine that UFC fans had grown accustomed before his recent run of lackluster performances. Forrest came right at Silva, assuming that his natural size advantage would equate to a strength advantage as well. All that did was make him a stationary target for Silvas pinpoint striking accuracy and The Spider quickly took control of the fight. After an early feeling out process, Griffin flashed a body kick which was caught by Silva and countered with a short punch that sent him to the canvas for a flash knockdown.

The resolute Griffin quickly bounced to his feet, this time flashing a high kick which Silva easily countered for another knockdown. This one clearly hurt Griffin, though he once again made it back to his feet quickly and landed a combination of his own. This was his best”and last”offense of the fight. Silva quickly floored Griffin with a left hand that left little doubt to the eventual outcome of the contest.

Silva, backing up, landed a perfect and almost effortless straight right that sent Griffin down for good. The referee didnt even bother to count as he waved his arms over the prone fighter as Silva celebrated his win. Griffin quickly exited the cage and, reportedly, the arena.

Silva’s message in his postfight interview was simple: I want to fight against the best. Whoever the best is at the time, I want to fight them. Though Silva didnt really affirm that hed be campaigning more at the heavier weight, that was the implicit message of his comment.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance writer and highly respected authority on NFL football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

The UFC is of borderline relevance in Japan. This isn’t to disparage the UFC, which has done a great job growing MMA in North America and parts of Europe. It’s an effort to put Dana White’s claims of Zuffa’s inevitable worldwide dominance into perspective. Without traction in the #2 fightsport market in the world, UFC’s hopes for ‘world domination’ are doomed to failure.

Here are the three essential qualities for doing business in Japan, along with an analysis of what they mean to Zuffa’s efforts to build the UFC brand there:

Group Orientation/Collaboration: Japanese businessmen are notorious for sublimating their individual talents and personalities to the greater good of the group. For US businesses seeking to enter the market, a certain degree of partnership with existing Japanese firms is almost mandatory. The UFC worked with Germany s largest concert promoter (MLK) to enter that market with a fair degree of success. Even if the UFC didn’t want to go promote with one of the major players in Japanese fight sports, they’d be well advised to seek some sort of a partnership similar to their German initiative to help smooth their way.

Hierarchy: Japanese business and, for that matter, Japanese culture, is almost ridiculously hierarchical. The societal reverence for age, experience and accomplishment in Japan is well known, and that’s often a difficult concept for American companies and businessmen to grasp. One approach for the UFC would be for White to take a back seat in their efforts to promote in Japan in favor of Lorenzo Fertitta–who has much more conventional business experience from his time in the casino industry–and perhaps Marc Ratner, widely respected for his time at the Nevada Athletic Commission.

Respect: Respect in business dealings is essential in Japan. In a typical Japanese business deal, the first few meetings aren’t intended for any substantive decision making to take place. Instead, they’re used for evaluation of your professionalism or, as the Japanese like to put it, to determine your suitability for conducting business with. To succeed in Japan, the UFC must realize that they’re not considered a major fight promotion in that country. They must understand that they’ve got to win over a skeptical public, but before that they have to win over a skeptical Japanese business community. They might be able to run their company like Tony Soprano ran the garbage collection business in the US, but that approach applied to Japan will leave them exactly where they are now–on the outside looking in at the huge, fight crazy economy.

Dana White’s fanciful stories about corrupt promoters and Yakzua gangsters out of Quentin Tarantino movies might amuse his sycophants in the MMA media, but countless US companies including fight promotions have done business successfully and profitably in Japan. The UFC might be able to convince the clueless US media that they’re making progress in Japan due to a deal on a low profile TV network or, more recently a big ad campaign on a Japanese social networking site, but they’re currently spinning their wheels and going nowhere. Properly promoting stars like Yoshihiro Akiyama will help, but the only way that Zuffa will be able to become a factor in the worlds #2 MMA market is to do what every other company has done to be successful there–learn how to understand the Japanese approach to doing business, and play by their rules.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and respected authority on football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Mixed martial arts is booming in America, but there’s not one specific fighter responsible for its upswing in popularity. That’s not the case in Japan, as Sakuraba is almost universally acknowledged as having brought MMA to the mainstream of Japanese sports and popular culture. In particular, his on-going feud with Brazil’s Gracie family made him a major superstar and national hero.

While Sakruaba’s record in the sport is certainly worthy of this acclaim, the reality is that he hasn’t defeated a credible opponent of any sort since his 2003 win over Kevin Randleman. At this point, he’s doing nothing to enhance his legacy and is putting it at risk by continuing his career well past his competitive prime.

Sakuraba is not only 38 years old, but he’s what fight experts consider an ‘old 38′ based on the number of grueling, physically and emotionally draining battles he’s competed in. His 90 minute classic with Royce Gracie alone took a toll that some suggest that Sakuraba has never recovered from. Despite this, he continued to face the best opponents in the world after that fight.

Sakuraba also made the most of his box office popularity, demonstrating his bravery by facing much larger opponents including heavyweights like Mirko Cro Cop and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. These physical mismatches would never be sanctioned in the more tightly regulated US fight scene, but were big box office in Japan. The result, however, wasn’t as favorable for Sakuraba with most ending with him losing by knockout or submission.

Despite his recent setbacks, Sakuraba has made no indication that hell be retiring anytime soon. Hopefully, this decision doesn’t put his long-term health and future well being at risk.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance sports writer and noted authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

The fight against Franklin was contested at a catchweight of 195 pounds, and Belfort took several tries to finally make weight on Friday afternoon. If he had been weakened by a difficult weight cut, he sure didn’t show it as he entered the cage on Saturday looking noticeably larger than his opponent. The pace of the bout was tactical and deliberate until the very end–Belfort landed a few leg kicks, but for the most part it was several minutes of the fighters circling each other. Belfort was clearly measuring Franklin for a big power shot, and he found it after a brief flurry in which neither man gained an advantage. Out of nowhere, Belfort floored Franklin with a nasty uppercut and quickly mounted a ground and pound assault on his fallen adversary. It only took three or four big shots to Franklin’s head before the referee jumped in to call a halt to the proceedings.

At the post fight press conference, Dana White quickly endorsed the prospect of a matchup between Belfort and UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva”either for the title or at a’5 catchweight. Silva has only three fights remaining on his UFC contract, after which hes insisted that hell retire. Obviously nothing has been signed, but White clearly wants to get his moneys worth out of the fights remaining on Silvas deal and from that standpoint alone a matchup against Belfort makes perfect sense.

A changing of the guard was in evidence in the co-main event, as Junior Dos Santos defeated former PRIDE Open Weight GP champion Mirko Cro Cop by verbal submission. Cro Cop appeared to be moving much better on his surgically repaired knee than in recent fights, though he still demonstrated an overreliance on his counterpunching. Still, through the early part of the fight he was doing well with his straight left hand counter. In the third round Dos Santos began to use his Muay Thai knee strikes to good effect. It was a knee strike to Cro Cops head followed by an uppercut that ended the fight”Cro Cop suddenly indicated to the referee that he couldnt see and was unable to continue. Ironically, he may have suffered a broken eye socket similar to the one he famously inflicted on Bob Sapp in a 2003 K-1 bout.

Earlier in the card, Paul Daley made the most of his role as a late substitute for injured Mike Swick as he stopped Martin Kampmann by second round TKO. Kampmanns defense was nonexistent, and his decision to stand and trade with a noted power striker was highly suspect. The end came after a brutal left hook knocked Kampmann to the canvas, after which Daley followed up with some ground and pound until the stoppage.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Andrei Arlovski has experienced the opposite problem”after starting his career as the Belarusian wildman who devastated opponents with his aggressive, free swinging style and KO power he suddenly gained too *much* control. After trading victories with Tim Sylvia and two short, explosive and exciting bouts, a rubber match was scheduled for UFC 61 and during the fight disaster struck: Arlovski all of a sudden became a tentative and boring fighter. The real losers were the fans, and Sylvia/Arlovski 3 is quick to be mentioned when talk turns toward the worst championship bouts in the history of MMA.

After a layoff of nearly 6th months, Arlovski returned to the octagon and scored a first round KO of overmatched Marcio Cruz. Another snoozefest ensued at UFC 70, where he decisioned Fabrico Werdum. Arlovskis contract with the UFC was up about this time and Zuffa management quickly made clear that they had no interest in resigning him.

During the past few years many questions have been raised about Arlovskis desire to continue his fighting career and several retirement rumors have made the rounds. While it would be difficult to blame Arlovski for enjoying the life hes made for himself, this lack of hunger isnt a good mindset for a professional prizefighter.

Arlovski insists that hes anxious to continue his MMA career and has enlisted the services of one of boxings best trainers, Freddy Roach. Roach has been charged with trying to find a middle ground with Arlovski, somewhere between the wildly reckless style of his early career and the tentative, plodding style of his recent fights. Furthermore, Arlovski has also appeared to have trouble letting his hands go of late and if Roach cant fix these problems no one can.

Maybe this is the type of change that Arlovski needs and one that boxing would afford him. Despite a solid fundamental groundfighting base (Sambo, wrestling and BJJ) Arlovski has never shown much of a desire to take the action to the mat. It could also be the case that MMA has passed him by”dont forget that he entered the sport along with one dimensional fighters like Ricco Rodriguez, Wesley Cabbage Correira and Vladmir Matyushenko. It could be that Arlovski still has the heart and desire to fight, but needs to change sports to get back to a championship level of competition.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on baseball betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

The event will be remembered for the main event and the shocking upset of Torres, whom commentator Frank Mir had been championing as the pound for pound best fighter in the sport of late. Torres certainly had the credentials”a fighter equally as dangerous on his feet as on the ground, hed compiled a 37-1 record entering the fight against Bowles.

Bowles, originally from Charleston WV and now training out of the Hardcore Gym in Athens, GA, entered the cage accompanied by the music of Johnny Cash. This prompted WEC commentator Todd Harris to quip “It takes a special man to walk in to Johnny Cash”. He wasnt kidding, and Bowles quickly announced his presence with authority rocking Torres with an overhand right and scoring a takedown within the first minute. After a groundfighting sequence, the two fighters exchanged punches again and initially it looked like Torres was getting the best of things as he landed a multiple punch combination that sent Bowles backing up. Almost out of nowhere, however, Bowles countered with a perfectly placed short right hook that sent the champion to the canvas. He followed up with some nasty ground and pound punches including a big left hand that knocked his opponent unconscious and forced the referee to wave off the fight.

In his postfight interview, Bowles was clearly pleased but not exactly surprised by the result. His comments indicated that hed been very well prepared for Torres considerable skills and though he conceded that hed been stung by the punching barrage waited for the opening to throw the right hook that ended the fight. Bowles displayed considerable class in victory, and Torres conducted himself in a matter befitting a champion as he accepted the defeat.

A rematch between Bowles and Torres is almost inevitable, but theres plenty of talent in the WEC bantamweight division. The semifinal bout on the card pitted two of these competitors in what may have been an elimination match for #1 contender status as Dominick Cruz handed feisty Joseph Benavidez his first professional loss via unanimous decision. The unorthodox and insanely athletic Benevidez had a good deal of trouble with the superior height and reach of Cruz.

Further muddling the picture in the bantamweight division was an earlier fight on the card, in which Takeya Mizugaki outlasted Jeff Curran to win a split decision victory. Mizugaki had trouble with the active guard of Curran, but scored takedowns in all three rounds.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

A few hours later, the story began to unravel. First, Kimo’s agent indicated that he had spoken to him at 11 PM Monday night and that he was alive and well. He did add that he hadn’t spoken to him since, but that he had not received word from anyone close to Kimo of a problem nor had he been contacted by any authorities. Shortly after 2:00 PM Tuesday, Kimo’s attorney reported that the fighter had been located and was alive and well. Theres still a question of how the report that he was dead made it out in the first place, but the New York Daily News isnt providing much of an explanation–theyve simply deleted the report without comment and will presumably pretend it never happened. There’s some suggestion that the rumor started in an online MMA forum, and Kimo has suggested that he’ll pursue legal action against the perpetrator.

The false death rumors are the latest twist to the utterly bizarre life of Kimo Leopoldo. A native of Munich, Germany, Kimo–he claimed later in his life that he had legally changed his name to simply ‘Kimo’–was the UFCs first over the top personality back when the promotions events were still in the single digits. He was also one of the sports first freestyle fighters in an era when most competitors were specialists in one martial arts discipline.

Kimo compiled a solid record in the sports early years. By the end of 1997, he had compiled a 6-2-1 record with his only losses coming to Gracie and another UFC Hall of Famer, Ken Shamrock. He also earned a draw against a third UFC Hall of Famer, wrestling specialist Dan Severn. His career would tread water from that point, however, as a result of increasingly better fighters entering the sport and the collateral damage of Kimos own often questionable lifestyle choices. His last fight was in 2006, a loss to veteran Wes Sims.

To UFC fans, Kimo became known as much for his flamboyant personality as for his toughness as a competitor. He was a devout Christian, and sported many religious tattoos including a large “Jesus” inscription across his stomach. In an era characterized by low key ring walks, Kimo caused a stir when he entered the octagon at UFC 3 bearing a life sized wooden cross.

Kimo has battled drug and alcohol addiction throughout his life, and in recent years has reportedly became addicted to meth. In one of his more recent run ins with the law, he was playing with a yo-yo in a parking lot while wearing an orange jumpsuit made for law enforcement disaster response. He was approached by police who questioned him about the outfit, and upon searching him he was found to be in possession of marijuana and subsequently arrested.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and noted authority on NFL football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Lauzon was in control of the fight throughout, but Stephens gave a good account of himself despite his opponents obvious technical superiority on the ground. Stephens wasn’t able to match up with Lauzon’s ever improving BJJ skills, but he used good old fashioned tenacity and some powerful punching to keep the fight competitive throughout. Lauzon appeared to be on the verge of ending the fight midway through the second with a ground and pound assault that he attempted to transition into a rear naked choke. Stephens fought back with a vengeance despite his disadvantageous position and opened a nasty cut on Lauzon’s forehead with an elbow strike.

Lauzon gained a new sense of urgency not wanting to lose on a stoppage due to the cut. He regained control on the ground and from full mount twisted into a nasty arm bar. Stephens tried to extricate himself, but was eventually forced to tap giving the bloody Lauzon a hard fought triumph.

The semifinal matchup featured another impressive effort from Cain Velasquez, who many have pegged as the heavyweight superstar of the future. Velasquez is a formidable physical presence at 6′2″ 241 pounds, and has very well developed technical skills for a fighter with only five bouts under his belt. He trains with the American Kickboxing Academy, and has a reputation as the hardest worker and most dominant sparring partner in a gym who includes among its membership superstars such as Bobby Southworth, Cung Le and Josh Thompson.

Velasquez was never really threatened in the fight, but he did have difficulty finishing off tough UFC newcomer Dennis Stojnic. Stojnic displayed impressive toughness and a chin of granite, which is less surprising given his training home at Amsterdam’s Golden Glory gym where he works alongside such fighters as K-1s Semmy Schilt and DREAMs Alistair Overeem. Stojnic did become the first of Velasquez’s opponents to make it into the second round as he withstood a brutal beating near the end of the first to make it to the bell.

In the second round, Velasquez quickly caught his opponent and sent him to the canvas with a nice combination which he followed up with another ground and pound attack. Stojnic again kept trying to defend himself despite a hellacious beating, though the referee finally jumped in and stopped the contest awarding Velasquez the TKO verdict. While Velasquez continues to show all of the qualities of a future top heavyweight, he needs to improve his stopping power and ability to finish a fight.

On the undercard, Josh The Dentist Neer earned a tapout victory over the sports best known (and perhaps only) vegan, Mac Danzig.

In the opening bout of the evening, up-and-coming welterweight Anthony Rumble Johnson used his significant height and reach advantage to dispatch tough Luigi Fioravanti. Though most observers were impressed with Johnson’s wall to wall domination of the tough US Marine Corps veteran, he was very critical of himself in his postfight interview calling his performance sloppy.

The live crowd in Tampa gave a very poor account of themselves, at times booing fighters mercilessly for no apparent reason whatsoever. This was in addition to the usual booing when the fight goes to the ground typical of uneducated MMA fans–they often turned on fighters midbout for no discernible reason. Their behavior reached a nadir in Cain Velasquez’s post fight interview, where he was booed mercilessly despite an impressive victory and informing Joe Rogan that he was about to become a father for the first time. It was somewhat surprising, since the Tampa/St. Pete area is home to a flourishing MMA scene.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on soccer betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Northern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

While nominally taking subordinate status to the Evans/Griffin main event the most shocking result by far was Frank Mir’s second round TKO stoppage of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Nogueira was the overwhelming favorite coming into the fight and had never been stopped inside the distance during a career where hed faced the best of the best: Fedor Emelianenko (three times), Josh Barnett (twice), Semmy Schilt and Mirko Cro Cop among many others. In the matchup to fill the Interim UFC title vacated by Randy Couture, Nogueira had absorbed a punching barrage from Tim Sylvia before gaining a submission victory.

Mir, meanwhile, had been on the verge of a full time move to the broadcast booth before his victory over WWE superstar turned MMA fighter Brock Lesnar. The conventional wisdom concerning Mir was that hed never fully recovered from a serious motorcycle accident in 2004 and that he was essentially a shot fighter physically, emotionally and psychologically. He eventually returned to the octagon, and after two TKO losses in his first three comeback fights began to consider the possibility that he just didnt have it any more.

When the fight against Brock Lesnar was signed, the perception among most fans was that Mir was a high profile setup for the former WWE champ. The expectation was that after a one-sided loss to Lesnar that Mir would transition into the next phase of his career as a broadcaster.

For the first minute of the fight, it looked like the above scenario was going to play out”Lesnar manhandled Mir from the opening horn, taking him down and landing punishing hammer fists on the ground. That was rendered irrelevant, however, when Lesnar made a rookie mistake and dangled his leg in easy reach of the BJJ blackbelt. Mir locked in a deep knee bar and Lesnar was forced to tap. Even with the submission victory, however, the perception was that Mir had gotten lucky when Lesnar made a rookie mistake.

There would be no such reprieve against Nogueira, according to many pundits, as he was too experienced and too good of a BJJ player in his own right. Mos gave Mir little chance to prevail in this matchup against a highly experienced veteran that had never been stopped inside the distance.

The fight was certainly one-sided, but it was Mir who was in control throughout. From the opening horn he demonstrated surprisingly sharp striking skills, and knocked Nogueira down twice in the first round. Not expecting a solid standup offense, Nogueira looked downright lost in the later stages of the first round as Mir doubled and tripled up his jab and threw impressive punching combinations to go with low kicks and occasional takedown attempts.

Though Mir appeared in full control of the fight as the second round began, the end would come with startling suddenness and brutality. After a low kick attempt by Nogueira, Mirs counter tagged his opponent and he followed up with a big right hook that sent the Brazilian crashing to the canvas. Herb Dean jumped in to stop the fight almost immediately, awarding Mir an improbable TKO victory at 1:54 seconds of round #2.

In the light heavyweight championship match, Forrest Griffin got off to a good start in his title defense by using his superior height and reach and an impressive array of kicks to keep Rashad Evans just out of range for two full rounds. That changed dramatically in the third, as Evans ended the fight with a punishing punching attack.

The most highly anticipated match on the undercard also featured a lopsided TKO finish as Quinton Rampage Jackson dominated Wanderlei Silva in the third fight between the two men.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.