In an event that lived up to all the hype, UFC 92 truly was the ultimate 2008 card with three headline-worthy fights.
In the first of the three highly anticipated bouts, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Wanderlei "the Axe Murderer" Silva squared off for a third time in their careers. Both fighters looked ready for war and refused to touch gloves (not surprising after their near scuffle at weigh-ins... see picture here thanks to combatlifestyle.com).
The fighters however didn't come out swinging, with Silva seeming especially tentative. But when the two did engage, it didn't take long for Rampage's tight and crisp boxing skills to come out on top. After blocking two of Silva's wild punches he landed a counter left hook that dropped Silva out cold. Silva was out, and Rampage looked amazing with his hands.
After the fight Rampage gave a lot of thanks to his new training camp. "I came to England with the Wolfslair, got my wolf on, now it's right," he said. "Rampage is back, baby. I ain't going nowhere."
So what's next for Rampage? "I would like to get my title back," he said, which is something every fighter wants, and a fight between Evans and Rampage makes "the most sense" according to Dana White. Although it's doubtful Rampage would turn down a title fight, he also had this to say, "To be honest, I really want to fight Forrest. That's the fight that haunts me when I go to sleep... I would like to get Forrest first, if I could."
In the heavyweight division, Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira faced off for the light heavyweight interim championship, and for the distinct pleasure of being the next to face Brock Lesnar in order to unify the belt and determine the true heavyweight champion.
Nogueria came into the fight as a huge favorite, with many experts saying his improved boxing would be too much for Mir to handle. From the beginning it was Mir that showed the superior boxing skills and a great uppercut as he dropped Nogueira three times in the first round. The first two times Mir followed Nogueira to the ground to do some damage before quickly backing away to avoid Nogueira's ground game. The third knock down of the round came right at the end with Nogueira hitting the mat as the bell rang. As Mir walked by his fallen opponent to his corner you could see the confidence on his face.
The second round proved to be more of the same, as Mir used superior boxing and quickness to fluster Nogueira. Big Nog did get a few shots in, but not enough to phase Mir. In the end, Mir dropped Nogueira early in the second round with a great three punch combo. He followed Nogueira to the mat dropping a flurry of punches from side control until the ref jumped in to stop the fight. As Nogueira tried to get back up he was clearly wobbly and it was clear that it was a good stoppage.
Immediately after the stoppage Mir circled the cage to find Lesnar in the audience and let him know that he was ready for him. In the post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, an emotional Mir thanked his family and let everyone know that even he didn't think he could beat Nogueira, but with the support of his loved ones his comeback is complete.
In the main event of the night, Forrest Griffin attempted to make his first title defense against the undefeated "Sugar" RashadEvans. The first few rounds were dead even as both fighters tried to play to their strengths. We saw Forrest using his reach and size advantage while Rashad utlized his speed and quickness. Neither fighter could gain the upper hand. Even towards the end of the second round after Griffin went on a relentless attack, Rashad simply stuck his chin out to show Griffin he wasn't hurt!
At the beginning of the third we saw Rashad take a different approach as he caught one of Griffin's low kicks and took him to the mat. He unloaded with a flurry of punches while Griffin attempted to get to his guard. Once Griffin got to guard he was fairly active, working for a triangle and kumura, however Rashad was having none of it staying very active from the top. Rashad continued to work from Griffin's guard and landed a hard right hand that stunned Griffin. Rashad then postured up and trapped Griffin in a helpless position on bottom while he landed solid blows to Griffin's chin, ultimately knocking Griffin out and forcing the stoppage.
One thought... Griffin's last loss was via the same method, ground and pound from his guard, and was to another fighter out of Greg Jackson's camp, Keith Jardine. Even Forrest admitted that his guard was "lazy".
Always gracious in defeat, Forrest congratulated Evans on the victory and assured the crowd that he did not tap out, it was simply the appearance that he was tapping because he was completely knocked out and Rashad's punches were simply causing his body to move around. That's why we love Forrest!
All in all, it was an amazing night of fights. The light heavyweight division has once again proven to be wide open with a ton of amazing talent. For Evans, winning the title may have been the easiest part of this championship journey. The heavyweight division will now come down to a re-matchbetween Frank Mir and Brock Lesnar, and if Mir continues to look as impressive as he did against Nogueira, Lesnar will have his work cut out for him.
Also, Congratulations to Matt Hammil on his victory! (Would someone tell me why he was not on the main card!?!?!)
