The sense of unpredictability was thick in the air as the three main events of UFC 92 unfolded from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Dec. 27. And when the smoke cleared, three underdogs stood victorious and the UFC had at its disposal a rich slate of 2009 matchmaking possibilities. Rashad Evans and Frank Mir captured titles in their respective victories over Forrest Griffin and Antonio Nogueira, and Quinton Jackson exorcised a demon by knocking out old Pride Fighting Championships foe Wanderlei Silva.
The event took place before 14,103 fans, only 9,701 of whom paid to get in, which translated into a $3.47 million gate. That is well down from the $4.9 million the UFC drew on Dec. 29 of last year with less spectators at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. UFC 92 was an all-knockout card, the first without a submission since UFC 9 in 1996. If the UFC’s last offering of the year does more than 514,000 buys, it will make the UFC the most successful brand to promote in a given year on pay-per-view, according to Yahoo Sport’s Dave Meltzer.
Evans, now the only undefeated fighter to stand atop an MMA weight class, took two rounds of shots from Griffin, who landed strong kicks in the first and clipped Evans in the eye with a hard jab at the closing of the second. Evans hit a short right to Griffin’s jaw after catching a kick in round three, however, and took advantage of a loose guard to land heavy shots and the TKO win. The method of victory was reminiscent of the win of Evans’ teammates, Keith Jardine, over Griffin in 2006. Unlike that fight, Griffin, who earned $100,000 in disclosed pay for the night, was calm and collected after the loss, praising Evans and criticizing his own guard as sloppy. Evans, who banked $130,000 in disclosed money for the title win, showed some braggadocios swagger during the fight that earned him boos, while the Vegas faithful cheered Griffin all weekend.
The most incredible finish of the night, and perhaps of the year, saw Frank Mir stop Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira to take the interim heavyweight title. Mir landed heavy uppercuts and jabs that dropped the heretofore-invincible Brazilian several times. A second-round knockdown and a brief flurry of ground-and-pound forced the referee to step in, marking the first time Nogueira has been finished in an illustrious 37-fight career. Mir said in interviews afterward that the plan was to not come in for the takedown shot Nogueira was expecting, and to simply take advantage of the legend’s limited head movement. The shocking finish was an ideal setup for a rematch between Mir and Brock Lesnar to unify the heavyweight titles. The fight, which is set to take place in either April or May, is the most lucrative, and perhaps least likely, match that could have come out of the Lesnar/Couture/Mir/Nogueira series that closed out 2008.
Quinton Jackson came to the cage at UFC 92 wearing a contemplative expression and none of his trademark glares into the camera, but left the Octagon much more animated. He had, after all, just landed a crushing left-hook knockout over the man who handed him his two worst career beatings in Japan.
Wanderlei Silva worked solid leg kicks in the opening round before Jackson corked the winning blow at the 3:21 mark. The shot earned Jackson an event-high $325,000 disclosed payday, not including a $60K knockout bonus. Jackson was back in old form on the mic afterwards, praising his first training camp at the Wolfslair Academy in England. Other than briefly cited “personal problems,” there was no mention of Jackson's arrest in July for driving recklessly through the streets of Costa Mesa, Calif. in an apparent mental meltdown due to his loss to Forrest Griffin. Jackson has requested a rematch with Griffin before getting a title shot, but UFC President Dana White in public comments this week seemed more inclined toward an Evans vs. Jackson title fight as the next step.
In the other two main card bouts, Cheick Kongo toppled debuting Cage Rage veteran Mustapha al Turk with a heavy punch and ground-and-pound that left him bloodied and defeated in the first, and "The Ultimate Fighter 7" finalist CB Dollaway mounted Mike Massenzio in the first round and transitioned to back mount en route to ending the fight with ear-boxing ground-and-pound. Massenzio came into the fight with a heavily wrapped knee that will require surgery, according to ESPN.com’s Franklin McNeil.
Prelim fights featuring Matt Hamill's second-round TKO over a spent Reese Andy, K-1 veteran Pat Berry's leg kick stoppage of Dan Evensen and Antoni Hardonk's TKO of Mike Wessel, which all made it on air. Off air, Brad Blackburn took two rounds over Ryo Chonan before the Japanese fighter surged in the third, but not enough to finish, and top middleweight contender Yushin Okami put on a less-than-inspiring performance in a decision win over Dean Lister. The fight may have been designed to clear the way to trim Lister from the UFC roster.