COLUMBUS, Ohio — Not bad for an old man, indeed.
After dominating UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia for the full five rounds at UFC 68: The Uprising, Randy Couture, in his first fight out of retirement, scored a unanimous decision over the big man and is now the UFC heavyweight champion again.
"Not bad for an old man," Couture joked.
His birth certificate may indicate he's 43, but he fought like he was 23 during the 25-minute fight. Couture, clearly the crowd favorite, drilled Sylvia with a low leg kick and then popped him with a right that dropped the 6-foot 8-inch champion to the canvas early in the first round. The results of that combination even surprised Couture.
"He disappeared with that right, and it surprised me," said Couture. "I worked on that combo a lot in training camp."
Couture, extremely humble after the victory, said it was one of those nights.
"There are a few times in your career when things come together like that," said Couture, adding that the game plan worked almost perfectly. "It was an exceptional night for an ordinary guy."
In front of a roaring crowd of more than 19,000, Matt Hughes and Rich Franklin returned to the win columns with wins over Chris Lytle and Jason MacDonald, respectively. Following is an overview of the fights.
The Fighters: Jason Gilliam (11-1) vs. Jamie "The Worm" Varner (10-1)
Division: Lightweight
The Winner: Varner
How/When: TKO, 1:34 of Round 1
The Fighters: Gleison Tibau (24-3) vs. Jason "Dynamite" Dent (12-8)
Division: Lightweight
The Winner: Tibau
How/When: Unanimous Decision
The Fighters: Luigi Fioravanti (11-2) vs. Jon Fitch (18-2)
Division: Welterweight
The Winner: Fitch
How/When: RNC, 3:05 of Round 2
The Fighters: Rex "Big Dog" Holman (4-2) vs. Matt "The Hammer" Hamill (5-0)
Division: Light Heavyweight
The Winner: Hamill
How/When: TKO, 4:00 of Round 1
Main Card
The Fighters: Jason "The Punisher" Lambert (23-6) vs. Renato "Babalu" Sobral (27-7)
Division: Light Heavyweight
The Winner: Lambert
How/When: KO, 3:36 of Round 2
The Fighters: Chris "Lights Out" Lytle (32-14) vs. Matt Hughes (43-5)
Division: Welterweight
The Winner: Hughes
How/When: Unanimous Decision
The Fighters: Jason "The Athlete" MacDonald (19-8) vs. Rich "Ace" Franklin (23-2)
Division: Middleweight
The Winner: Franklin
How/When: TKO, MacDonald unable to continue after the second round.
The Fighters: Drew McFedries (5-2) vs. Martin "The Hitman" Kampmann
Division: Middleweight
The Winner: Kampmann
How/When: Submission, 4:06 of Round 1
The Fighters: Randy "The Natural" Couture (14-8) vs. Tim "The Maine-ac" Sylvia (25-3)
Division: Heavyweight
The Winner: Couture
How/When: Unanimous Decision
Quotes
"Oh, wow. That was nice." — Jason Lambert, in response to his KO punch he saw on the big screen.
"We are waiting on Randy Couture … Father Time." — UFC prez Dana White, at the post-fight press conference
"He doesn't want to stand up again." — White, teasing Couture at the press conference
"That bastard. He's going to make me stand up again." — Couture, playing along with White
Watch for the complete coverage, including analysis of the fighters, in the June issue of Ultimate Grappling.
|   Do you think Matt Hamill is happy with his victory over Rex Holman?
 Gleison Tibau (left) and Jason Dent.
 Ground and Pound 101. Rich Franklin vs. Jason MacDonald.
 Matt Hughes tangles with Chris Lytle.
 Randy Couture throws a big right at Tim Sylvia.
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