Experience won out over brute strength as Brock Lesnar’s much anticipated UFC debut was cut short by Frank Mir tonight at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
Lesnar—favored to win the bout—entered the ring to a mixture of cheers and boos. He was supported by several famous co-workers, including Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker and current TNA Heavy Weight Champion, Kurt Angle.
From the outset, Lesnar looked impressive, taking Mir down at will and pounding him on the mat. At times, it looked as though Mir—who improved to 11-3 with the victory—would either tap out or be knocked out. Mir was able to partially control the onslaught of punches about a minute into the fight, getting Lesnar in a full guard. From the guard, Mir attempted two arm bars, but was unsuccessful.
Lesnar attempted to get Mir to stand up and in the process, walked into a leg lock where he was forced to tap 90 seconds into his debut.
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“I went for a couple of arm bar attempts,”Mir said after the fight. “I knew his legs were a little leaner. When he pulled the leg back, I drove into it.”
The fight also marks another victory of sorts for former (or current?) UFC Heavy Weight Champion Randy “The Natural” Couture. Couture–who is currently involved in a contract dispute with the UFC– has gained a reputation as a commentator and for his ability to accurately pick the winner of big fights.
Tonight proved to be no exception.
“I’m going with Mir with a second-round submission,”Couture said, days before the fight. “As big and strong as Lesnar is, and as hard as he’s going to come, I think he’s going to put Mir right where he wants to be and Lesnar’s going to get out of position and get caught.”
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History was also made, as Antonio “Minotauro” Nogueira defeated Tim “The Maine-iac” Sylvia, becoming the first man to win the heavy weight title in Pride and UFC.
Sylvia put on a boxing clinic, landing jab after jab on Nogueira, who was unable to take Sylvia down. The Maine-iac seemed to be cruising to another title until the third round. Shortly after landing a hard shot to Noguiera’s face, the two found themselves on the canvas. As Sylvia attempted to gain side control, Nogueira was able to pull a reverse, landing on top of Sylvia and sinking in a guillotine. Unable to break the hold, Sylvia was forced to tap out mid way through the round.
As fans began to file out of the arena, Sylvia seemed to be in a state of shock at what just transpired.
“He’s a legend in this sport,”Sylvia said of Noguiera.
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Nate Marquardt looked impressive in his dominant victory over veteran Jeremy Horn. Marquardt forced Horn to tap out in the second round.
In what seemed to be a night for tap outs, Ricardo Almeida stopped Rob Yundt with a choke a little over a minute into the first round.
Tyson Griffin won a controversial unanimous decision over Gleison Tibau. Griffin was taken down in each of the bout’s three rounds, but controlled the tempo with effective striking when the two fighters’ were standing.
The most exciting knock out of the night, goes to Chris Lytle, who scored a TKO over Kyle Bradley 33 seconds into the first round. Bradley was clearly out of it when the referee halted the fight. After the referee prevented Lytle from inflicting further damage, Bradley, who appeared to be unaware that the bout ended, placed the referee in a full guard.
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In what was easily the evening’s funniest moment, LL Cool J’sMama Said Knock You Out played immediately following Tim Boetsch’s TKO victory over David Heath. Boetsch battered Heath into submission after flinging him nearly head first into the cage in a takedown attempt.
Marvin “Beastman” Eastman won a unanimous decision over Terry Martin. The crowd seemed displeased by the lack of fireworks from the two, who are both known for their striking ability and voiced their displeasure throughout the three round bout. Referee Yves Lavigne received most of the applause during the fight, for repeatedly separating the fighters in an attempt to speed up the action.
Robert Emerson, of The Ultimate Fighter fame won a split decision over Keita Nakamura.
UFC 81: Breaking Point attracted a number of celebrities including Jay-Z,Kid Rock, current UFC Light Heavy Weight Champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, and baseball’s reining home run king, Barry Bonds, who was booed loudly by the Las Vegas crowd.
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