Sorry this has taken so long — I spent much of the weekend in bed watching season one of Jericho, and I didn’t even touch a computer until last night. Just as I did with the preview, I’m only going to talk about the top two matches here. Yes, the entire show was awesome, but I’m on a time budget right now, so all you get are the top two fights.

ANTONIO RODRIGO NOGUIERA D. TIM SYLVIA (ROUND THREE > GUILLOTINE CHOKE)

This fight was so awesome in every way. It was a classic, with the little guy getting beat on by the giant for three rounds and then using superior skill to surprising the big guy with a submission win. This was vintage Nog — he always takes a pounding for two rounds, and somehow uses his outstanding BJJ skills to get the victory. Tim Sylvia was a different fighter in this one, too. He beat the crap out of Nog for two full rounds, and tried to finish him on several occasions.  I fully expected Timmy to hump Nog against the cage for five rounds, and he didn’t — he showed precision striking and plenty of power, but just made a mistake and got caught by one of the best. Pretty much exactly like the Lesnar/Mir fight, except this one was a lot longer. 

FRANK MIR D. BROCK LESNAR (ROUND TWO > KNEEBAR)

My God, was this awesome. Brock Lesnar looked like 400 pounds of solid muscle, and he very nearly killed Frank Mir dead before his inexperience led to a kneebar submission. Even though Lesnar lost, there’s pretty much no doubt that we witnessed the birth of what will likely be an unstoppable force in the heavyweight division within two years. Lesnar exploded out of the blocks and took Mir down easily, and then proceeded to put on a positioning clinic using his wrestling skills. I knew Brock was going to be fast, but I didn’t expect him to be as fast as he was — the guy literally moves like a welterweight. Mir trapped a leg while Brock stood up to try and finish the fight, and Brock turned the wrong way to attempt to get out of the hold, allowing Mir to lock it in tight and force Lesnar to submit.  The UFC brass, Dana White included, were thrilled with Lesnar’s showing, and it’s a win-win, because Lesnar proves he can fight while Frank Mir proves that he’s still one of the best in the division. I’ll be back later with another UFC post on where I think they should go from here with all four fighters involved in the top two matches.