LAS VEGAS - Both warriors, frequently covered in red, had fought valiantly. The blood-soaked Octagon revealed the ravages of their incredible battle. Having enjoyed every moment, the crowd cheered wildly at the conclusion.

And when the winner of the five-round war was announced, Sean "The Muscle Shark" Sherk had captured the coveted UFC lightweight title over Kenny Florian.

And then it was the middleweight's turn. You've seen the footage of shark attacks. A ruthless, silent killer swiftly moves in on an unsuspecting victim with machine-like precision. Within moments, the violence is done. Such was the case with Anderson Silva.

The fighter from Brazil attacked UFC middleweight champ Rich Franklin with precision, power and speed. And when this one was over, Silva owned the coveted UFC middleweight title.

On a night in which the UFC crowned a new lightweight champ, there was a changing of the guard in the middleweight division. And based on how Silva performed on this night, there may not be another one any time soon. Following are the highlights, quotes and analysis of UFC 64. The referee analysis is from Nelson "Doc" Hamilton.

Kurt Pellegrino (15-2) and Junior Assuncao (5-2)
Division: Lightweight
The Winner: Pellegrino
How/When: Rear naked choke at 2:04 of Round 1
The Fight: This fight went to the ground almost immediately, and Pellegrino was in complete control. After some nasty ground and pound, he moved to Junior's back and choked him out.
"Mo" Is On His Side: Pellegrino is on a roll and building some momentum.

Justin "The Pretty Boy" James (22-6) and Clay "The Carpenter" Guida (21-3)
Division: Lightweight
The Winner: Guida
How/When: Rear naked choke at 4:42 of Round 2
The Fight: Guida, who was in total control the entire bout and the aggressor, unleashed a nasty ground and pound on James. With James reeling from that punishment, Guida took his opponent's back and choked him out.
Summertime Blues: Envision one of those pro football touchdown celebrations. That is what Guida looked like when he entered the Octagon. Totally amped, he entered the Octagon, ran around, pumped his fist and screamed. Guida's Roger Daltrey-like long hair brings back memories of Kimo's hair when he fought Royce. Guida is fun to watch, he shows energy and he's constantly working. Let's hope we see him again in the Octagon.
Ref's Analysis: Up until the submission, I had Guida winning. He is a junkyard dog. What you see is what you get. He keeps coming and coming and coming ... just like the bunny rabbit. He has no fear. It's raw, raw, raw aggression. He's a tough fighter for anyone to fight.

Yushin Okami (19-3) vs. Kalib Starnes (9-2-1)
Division: Middleweight
The Winner: Okami
How/When: 1:40 TKO in Round 3
The Fight: The first two rounds were a bit slow, which might be why Okami came out with a vengeance in Round 3. Okami drilled Starnes with a left hook and followed that up with a blistering upper cut. The combo hurt Starnes, who literally ran almost halfway around the Octagon to get away from the Japanese fighter.
Technique of the Bout: Give Starnes credit for a nice jumping front kick to Okami's face.

Main Card

Dan "The Upgrade" Lauzon (4-1) vs. Spencer "The King" Fisher (20-2)
Division: Lightweight
The Winner: Fisher
How/When: TKO at 4:38 of Round 1
The Fight: Lauzon came out like he meant business. After two unsuccessful takedown attempts, he picked up Fisher and slammed him. When the fight went back to their feet, Fisher turned up the heat. Flying almost as high as Michael Jordan during his heyday, Fisher delivered a flying knee. He wrapped things up with some gnarly punches.
Old Enough to Vote: Dan is only 18 and the brother of Joe, who just beat Jens Pulver.
Technique of the Bout: Fisher's flying knee

Carmelo Marrero (6-0) vs. Cheick Kongo (19-3-1)
Division: Heavyweight
The Winner: Marrero
How: Split decision
The Fight: Marrero took Kongo down repeatedly, but he could not finish him off. Kongo's low kicks did some damage, as Marrero limped his way back to the locker room, but it was not enough.
What Butterflies? In his Octagon debut, Marrero showed some nice aggressiveness.
Ref's Analysis: If you have a weakness when you get to the elite division, it will be exposed. Kongo could not defend the shoot. Kongo is one of these guys who will hurt you if you stand or if he is on top. When he's got his back to the ground, however, it looks like he has a lot of problems. I did have Kongo winning the last round because he almost got a submission and the rest of the round was even.

Kenny Florian (7-3) vs. Sean "Muscle Shark" Sherk (35-2-1)
Division: Lightweight title bout
The Winner: Sherk
How: Unanimous decision
The Fight: We all may have gray beards before we see another fight as great as this. In a blood-spattered Octagon, these two valiant warriors went at it for five action-packed rounds. This fight had it all ... from high kicks to takedowns to jiu-jitsu to ground and pound.

A sequence in Round 3 exemplified the fight. Florian threw a high round kick and then followed with a front thrust kick. Sherk, with blood running down his torso, launched a punch, executed a takedown and then dropped some elbows on the jiu-jitsu specialist from Boston.
Highlight of the Bout: We could have selected the entire fight, but we'll go with Sherk's crushing slam. When Florian hit, the impact snapped his head violently up.

Kuniyoshi Hironaka (10-3) vs. Jon Fitch (17-2 and 1 no contest)
Division: Welterweight
The Winner: Fitch
How: Unanimous decision
The Fight: Fitch, who appeared to have a smirk on his face to start Round 3, continued to punish Hironaka. At one point, he took the Japanese fighter down, and it was the kind of takedown you can hear from the upper deck.
Technique of the Bout: Fitch's left round kick to Hironaka's face at the start of Round 3.

Anderson Silva (17-4) vs. Rich Franklin (22-2)
Division: Middleweight title bout
The Winner: Silva
How/When: TKO at 3:59 of Round 1
The Fight: Did the 7-month absence hurt Franklin or was it simply Silva's night? Regardless, the UFC has a new middleweight champ. After a brief feeling-out period, Silva administered nasty, nasty knees to "Ace" from the Thai clinch. And then he repeated that. A knee that broke Franklin's nose started the combo that ended the fight. Silva then drilled the wobbly champion with a kick and finished him off with one last knee.
Who Will Step Up? The middleweight division fighters are going to have their hands full trying to take that belt away from Silva.
Ref's Analysis: I think most of us came away with the feeling that Rich looked completely lost trying to defend the clinch. He appeared to be lost on how to get out of it or how to counter it. Franklin always looks like one of the top fighters in the world and his record indicates that, so I'd have to say that he had a weakness that he was not aware of and Silva exploited that weakness. If you're a Rich Franklin fan, you hope that he licks his wounds, beats some people's asses and gets another chance.