Griffin, a veteran of TUF 1, scored a unanimous five-round decision over Quinton "Rampage" Jackson on July 5 here to earn the UFC’s light-heavyweight crown.

“People who criticize TUF are jackasses,” said UFC president Dana White.

In the title fight, the crowd of more than 11,000 at Mandalay Bay, buzzed wildly when Jackson sent Griffin to the canvas with a monster first-round punch. Griffin somehow weathered that storm and buckled Jackson’s leg in the second round with a blistering low round kick.

Throughout the remainder of the fight, Griffin continued to chop away with at Jackson with round kicks while Jackson connected with a ton of punches.

“I’m not trying to be some tough guy, but every single punch he threw hurt,” said Griffin.

At the post-fight press conference, Jackson showed up with the rest of the fighters. Griffin, however, was late and told White, “They are putting my face back together.”

While Griffin's face may be a little sore, the UFC light-heavyweight belt will certainly ease the pain.

Following are some highlights. As always, to give you a feel for the action, the story is written in the present tense.


The Main Card
The Fighters: Forrest Griffin (16-4) vs. Quinton Jackson (28-7)
Division: Light-Heavyweight Championship Bout
The Winner: Griffin
How: Unanimous
As It Happened in Round 1: Low kicks by Forrest. Low inside kick by Forrest. High kick by Forrest. Chants of “Forrest.” Big exchange. Both swing for the fences. Low round kick by Forrest. Left hook by Quinton. Another low kick by Forrest. Intensity is the name of the game. An uppercut sends Forrest down at 1:09. The crowd is buzzing loudly. Good exchange. Huge roar after the round.
Round 2. Low round kick buckles QJ’s leg. Crowd goes nuts. The action goes to the ground. Forrest is in side control and has Quinton nullified. Now ground and pound. Forrest mounts him, and the crowd goes nuts. Dropping elbows onto QJ’s face.

Round 5. Huge cheer to start Round 5. Forrest throws a kick and a knee. Forrest is pressing the action. 90 seconds to go. 50 seconds, the crowd stands and cheers. Liddell is among those standing.

The Fighters: Tyson Griffin (12-1) vs. Marcus Aurelio (16-6)
Division: Lightweight
The Winner: Griffin
How: Unanimous Decision

The Fight: Fifty seconds elapse without a technique, so the crowd gets a little impatient and boos. Griffin takes him down and scores some ground and pound. Griffin is in Aurelio’s guard. Aurelio shoots just at the end of the round, but Griffin sprawls.
Round 2. Tyson comes out with intensity in Round 2. The fight goes to the ground with about two minutes to go. Aurelio goes for the triangle. Griffin is in Aurelio’s guard, and he scores some knees. Tyson pops up after Round 2 and runs back to his corner. Jay Hieron and Randy Couture are in Griffin’s corner.
Round 3. Griffin is the aggressor for the first two minutes. At the 3-minute mark, Aurelio finally shoots but Griffin sprawls. Griffin scores a takedown at 1:40. Auerlio looks gassed. Griffin is in Aurelio’s guard. When the fight ends, Griffin stands and runs around the cage.

The Fighters:  Chris Lytle (35-16) vs. Josh Koscheck (13-2)
Division: Welterweight
The Winner: Koscheck
How: Unanimous decision
Highlights of the Fight: Lytle lets loose with some quick combos. Koscheck slipped after a high round kick and hit the canvas with a thud. As fast as he was down, he was back up. The fight is on the ground for several minutes. No one scores big during this time. Just before the round ends, Koscheck launches three elbows at Lytle.
Round 2. Josh goes for the takedown, but Lytle gets his neck. At 3 minutes of the round, Koscheck works Lytle up against the fence and drops some elbows. Koscheck opens a cut on Lytle and then blasts away with ground and pound. Koscheck is in total control. One minute to go in the round. More ground and pound. Lytle is in a pool of blood at 39 seconds.
Round 3. Like a warrior, Lytle is ready for Round 3. Lytle goes for a submission at the 3:44 mark. He goes for another seconds later. The crowd stands and screams for him. Koscheck is back on top. Lytle’s face is a bloody mess. A huge ovation for Lytle. Huge. Almost Liddell like. Crazy fight. Blood all over both of them. The crowd starts chanting “Lytle.” They unload on each other at the end.
After the fight. The crowd boos Koscheck. Lytle goes to the cage and throws his arms over the top. His corner rushes in and wipes the blood off of him. Lytle sits slumped against the fence. The crowd boos Koscheck. The fighters hug in the middle of the Octagon.

The Fighters: Gleison Tibau (27-5) vs. Joe “Daddy” Stevenson (34-8)
Division: Lightweight
The Winner: Stevenson

The Fighters: Ricardo Almeida (9-3) vs. Patrick Cote (14-4)
Division: Middleweight
The Winner: Cote
How: Split decision

What PPV Didn’t Show
• When Dana White, escorted by security, headed to his cage-side seat, fans converged on him, asking for photographs.
• Beth Franklin, Rich’s wife, sat in the front row, just behind the media, prior to the beginning of the fights.

 

Memorable Moments
• During his walk-in, Gabriel Gonzaga’s cold, hard stare.
COMMENT: Think Hollywood Western, and the gunslinger is headed toward a showdown with the world’s best fighter.
• The footage of Matt Hughes vs. Frank Trigg II, shown during the montage of UFC fights just before the PPV, is classic.
COMMENT: The footage induces goose bumps every time.



The Undercard
Justin Buchholz vs. Corey Hill
Winner: Buchholz

Denis Siver (11-6) vs. Melvin Guillard (40-8-3)
Winner: Guillard

Cole Miller (14-3) vs. Jorge Gurgel (15-4)
Winner: Miller
As It Happened: Jorge is pushing the pace. JG does unload some good low round kicks. Miller connects with some punches that get Gurgel’s attention. Jorge hurt him and tried to put him away, but they clinched against the cage. After Round 1, Miller looks to the crowd and pumps his arm.
Round 2. Touch gloves to start. Jorge connects with some punches right at the start of the round. Miller takes advantage of his reach and scores with a right. Miller takes Gurgel down, and Jorge throws elbows with Miller in his guard. Miller scores with some ground and pound. Miller is in side control turns and goes for the choke. Jorge escapes and ends up in Miller’s guard. Action packed, and the crowd acknowledges their efforts. Jorge scores a takedown and ends up in Miller’s guard. Miller walks back to his corner, and he has a welt under his right eye.
Round 3. Nice takedown by Miller, but they get up right away. Jorge goes high with a right round kick and then takes Miller down immediately after. They exchange big by the fence with 1:35 to go in the round. Miller goes for a triangle with 30 seconds to go. Jorge rolls but finally taps.
.
Justin McCully vs. Gabriel Gonzaga (9-3)
Winner: Gonzaga
As It Happened: Gonzaga drops McCully with a low round kick and then immediately ends up in his guard, drops some big punches on him and ends up in side control. Gonzaga scores a kimura, casually stands up, flexes for the camera and then runs toward the camera.



The Post-Fight Press Conference
“I feel like crap right now. I did not think Forrest could hang with me. I respect him.” — Quinton Jackson

“I think my hair was red.” — Josh Koscheck, talking about what the color of the water was in the shower after his bloody fight with Chris Lytle

 
“Mike Pyle told me I won, and I believed him.” — Forrest Griffin

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