UFC 81 Results & Reactions

Antonio "Minotauro" Nogueira 31-4-1 defeated a very game Tim Sylvia to be the 1st ever Pride FC & UFC Heavyweight Champion. Tim came out & used his reach to punish "Big Nog" with his powerful striking game & even knocking Antonio to the canvas and coming oh so close to stopping the Heavyweight legend. As is the the norm, Nogueira survived on instinct alone, striking & looking for takedowns while you could tell he was out on his feet and basically fighting blind. Tim could not finish the Brazilian & ended the round in dominant fashion. In the 2nd, Tim still dominated the stand up battle but Antonio kept battling & attempting takedowns unsuccessfully. Nog got his wits about him & took more punishment but at the end of the round scored his 1st confidence gaining takedown. Into the 3rd & you knew it was coming. Nog gets the big man to the floor by pulling guard, sweeps to the top position, & then secured the guillotine choke. It seems we have seen this fight over & over. Like against Bob Sapp, Mirko Cro Cop, & Heath Herring, the guy takes a brutal beating, but doesn't get stopped, and comes back to gain a miraculous victory. In 36 pro fights, Nogueira has never, never been stopped & is now the UFC Heavyweight Champion!

Brock Lesnar came in like the bull he is landing an immediate takedown & following with a barrage of punches to the back of Frank Mir's head. The ref halted the fight & stood them up taking a point away from Brock & allowing recovery time for Mir. Action resumed & Mir threw a nice leg kick that landed but he fell from the awkward angle. Brock pounced & began the punching assault for the 2nd time as the sneaky Mir grabbed Brock's ankle with his left hand. Brock pounded becoming overconfident & Frank wrapped his legs around Lesnar taking him to the floor into a deeeeep kneebar that forced the tapout by the former pro wrestling super-star. The crowd goes wild & Frank is back in the Heavyweight Title picture & Brock's ultra-hyped debut is ruined. Back to the drawing board for Lesnar while a title shot may be in the future for Mir.

Nate Marquardt dominated Jeremy Horn though Horn did show some great "rubber guard" & almost got in the Go-Go Plata right as the round ended. In the 2nd Nate locked on a guillotine that Horn had no chance of getting free from & the tap ends the fight.

Ricardo Almeida returned from a 2 year absence to defeat Rob Yundt by a rolling guillotine (seriously, watch the vid for the roll) & the victory. Tyson Griffin got the usual decision win over Gleison Tibau giving him 4 decision bouts in a row. If he wants to get in on the Lightweight Title scene he has to get some stoppages with his wins. Act like you know, as I told ya, the new Chris Lytle came out & straight blasted Kyle Bradley winning by TKO in just 33 seconds! I think this guy is a little frustrated by getting screwed in the TUF Finale decision loss to Matt Serra, a cut loss in a fight he was winning to Thiago Alves, and the label of "boring" fighter. Chris has flipped a switch and become dangerous as hell to everyone in the Welterweight Division. "Conan" Tim Boetsch used knees and kicks to dominate the 0-3 in the UFC David Heath who is now looking for a new job after this TKO loss. Marvin Eastman beat Terry Martin in one of the worst and most boring fights ever while Rob Emerson pulled luck from his ass to take a split decision win over K-Taro.

Alright the bad 1st. I don't ever want to see Terry Martin, Marvin Eastman, Rob Emerson, or David Heath again in the UFC until they do something. Terry had so much potential with that powerful frame but he consistantly comes in to fights out of shape, over confident, & if he doesn't win early, just loses interest. I see no heart in this kid & he should be out (2-3 in his last 5 UFC fights). Marvin Eastman is a 37 year old fighter who hit the "ceiling" long ago. He's a nice guy but a boring fighter who couldn't quite hang with the upper talent in his division. Even dropping down to Middleweight, I don't see this guy becoming much of a factor besides putting the fans to sleep. Rob Emerson knows kickboxing, how to bail out on fights, & little else. He is taking up a roster spot for some truly well rounded fighter out there who was not on a reality show. Win consistantly in some smaller shows & we'll talk. David Heath was a cocky 7-0 when he came to the UFC, & is now 7-3. He lost to good names but he talks the talk, & then gets shut down. I just hate that in a fighter. Dave just lost to a guy who took the fight on 10 days notice & has proven he is not ready for UFC caliber fighters.

It was the weekend for the brothers Nogueira as Antonio Rodrigo "Big Nog" won the UFC Heavyweight Title & "Lil Nog" Antonio Rogerio got a nice win up in Canada with a TKO victory at HCF. Much respect to Tim Sylvia who is finally getting some respect from the fans & some cheers as well. The guy really owned the fight & just fell short as many greats have done at the hands of the Brazilian submission specialist. Tim can hang his head high learning from this experience & continue to be in the Heavyweight mix for some time to come. Don't count Brock Lesnar out just yet. The guy has only 2 pro fights & the potential is there for this monster. Don't expect "The Next Big Thing" to go away just yet as he is only beginning what could be a great career in MMA. Finally, our "ata" boy goes out to one Frank Mir.

Frank Mir shocked the world back in 2004 breaking Tim Sylvia's arm to win the Heavyweight Championship. Before he could defend the title even once, he was hit on his motorcycle by a motorist who ran a red light breaking his leg. He would be out of action for 2 years and have his title stripped away. He returned out of shape to lose fights to Pe De Pano Cruz & Brandon Vera, while gaining just 1 win in his comeback in ugly fashion over an equally out of shape Dan Christison. Many, including myself, thought it was over for Frank until we saw just a glimmer of the old Mir in a fight against Antoni Hardonk. Frank was in shape, focused, and secured a submission victory in only 1:17. It wasn't just the win or his loss of weight, Frank had the confidence in his eyes and desire he had lacked for so long. Finally, he took the fight no Heavyweight wanted to fight the incoming Brock Lesnar. The monster who barely made the Heavyweight limit of 265 lbs. was feared for his power and wrestling background. Frank took his lumps, showed great poise, and waited for his opportunity to steal a victory and re-establish himself as a Heavyweight contender once again. 3 years of heartbreak and people telling him he was done, and the guy proved us all wrong returning once again to prominence. Congrats to Frank Mir for not just this fight, but for all the bullshit and pain he endured to fight his way back into the sport he loved.

7-2 on our picks ladies with a special shout out to Irish Lew in the UG who gave some brilliant last second advice. Tank Abbott vs Kimbo Slice is coming up soon on Elite XC along with a WEC show and all the news I care about so keep checking in. Bet.