After over ten-years involved in the mixed martial arts world as a professional fighter, Ricardo Almeid has decided to hang it up on active competition. The former King of Pancrase and former UFC contender recently suffered his second loss in his last three outings when he squared off with the surging Mike Pyle at UFC 128, which took place in his own backyard of Newark, New Jersey at the Prudential Center earlier this month. Now, the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt will watch quietly on the sides as the sport grows, however will remain a fixture in the community as he continues to train a new crop fighters, which includes current UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, among many others. ...

By John Moody Ricardo Almeida wants to get back on the main card of UFC PPV events.  To do so, he must beat Mike Pyle on Saturday night at UFC 128 in Newark, NJ.  No easy task.  Pyle is fresh off his best performence in years, taking out the heralded John Hathaway. How does Almeida spend his final days before a fight? What does he hate the most about his weight cut?  Click through to watch our interview from just two days ago after one of his final workouts at Renzo Gracie's gym in mid-town Manhattan. Click through. ...

By John Moody UFC Lightweight Champion, Frankie Edgar, has a huge trilogy fight with Gray Maynard looming in May. But first, he is helping a host of Team Almeida fighters prepare for their big night.  Edgar will be in the corner for Ricardo Almeida's fight at UFC 128 Saturday against Mike Pyle. Then, his close training partner, Chris Liguori, fights in Ring Of Combat on April 8th. While helping his buddies peak for their fights, he is ramping up his own camp for another title defense against Gray Maynard at UFC 130. I spoke with Edgar yesterday on these topics and more. Click through to watch the video. ...

By John Moody Ricardo Almeida has won four of last five fights in the UFC, recently winning a unanimous decision over TJ Grant, which eased the blow of a high profile loss to Matt Hughes at UFC 117.  At 34, “The Big Dog” does not have any Randy Couture or Dan Henderson age-defying DNA to source and fully realizes it is go-time, right now, to start a win streak and return to the conversation at the top of the 170lb division. ...

By John Moody Chris Liguori’s MMA career has been a wild ride -- from early wars against Pete Sell in Ring of Combat to a quick call up to the UFC in 2003 to a return to ROC mixed with a marquee win in Elite XC along the way.  As part of the Ricardo Almeida Fight Team he trains weekly with Frankie Edgar, Almeida, Nick Catone, Eddie Alvarez, Renzo Gracie and an on-going cast of visiting MMA stars.  Now on a three fight win streak and facing an April 8^th fight in the Ring of Combat, Liguori is an evolved fighter, but it seems opportunities from the top organizations are still held hostage by the scars of his very early career losses, before he took the sport and training as seriously as he does today. At 28, now fighting at lightweight, Liguori has seen it all in MMA and believes he is competing on par with the best in the sport and ready to return to the UFC. As one of Edgar’s primary training partners and corner men, he is not in awe of the flash and bright lights of the big stage and plans to keep winning fights wherever they happen until the call from UFC matchmaker, Joe Silva, comes in. Liguori, a New Jersey native, recently took time to review his career and the future ahead with Fighters.com. ...

Brazilian welterweight Ricardo Almeida will be fighting in familiar territory come March. The Renzo Gracie protege is scheduled to face off against veteran Mike Pyle when the UFC ventures to New Jersey once again next March. Almeida recently bounced back from an embarrassing submission loss to former champion Matt Hughes, with a decision victory over Canadian TJ Grant at UFC 124 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. With the win over Grant earlier this month, Almeida has now won four his last five bouts inside the octagon, and hopes to extend his win streak to two-in-a-row with a win over Pyle. ...

Renzo Gracie spoke his mind in part two of our exclusive Fighters.com video interview.  The MMA legend looks back to his fight vs. Matt Hughes in Abu Dhabi, expands on why Frankie Edgar has blown up, who will win Edgar/Maynard 2, why Matt Serra disregarded his Jiu Jitsu against Chris Lytle, and if he ever plans to fight again.  Click through to watch the video. ...

The ultra-successful "ufc Prelims" special, which has served as a lead in to the Pay-Per View portion of UFC bouts, will be returning on Nov. 20, when the organization visits Auburn Hills, Mich. for UFC 123. Headlining the nights festivities will be former light heavyweight champions Quinton Jackson and Lyoto Machida in a non-title bout, with a trilogy between former welterweight champions Matt Hughes and BJ Penn being completed that night, serving as the co-main event of the evening. Prior to these bouts, a pair of middleweights and 170-pound fighters will be in action as part of the Spike TV special, which will have the potential to reach 96.1 million people at home in these United States. ...

As the year is coming closer to an end, the now annual World MMA Awards, which is hosted by Fighters Only Magazine, has recently announced their finalists for the December 1st event, which will take place once again in Las Vegas, Nev., which has become a hot bed for all things fighting related. The 2009 event opened up to a large audience, and has become a propellant in the mixed martial arts world, opening up the eyes to a mainstream audience, by the community taking leaps and bounds in order to legitimize itself as not only a legitimate sport, but one that deserves that same sort of recognition that most others receive, here in these United States. ...

After a prolonged period of restless uncertainty, the future is now set for famed ufc fighter BJ Penn. Widely regarded as the best Lightweight Mixed Martial Artist of all time, “Baby Jay” has hit some tough times recently, and although a November return was seemingly confirmed, an opponent was still very much unknown. No longer. It’s recently been confirmed by MMAFighting that BJ Penn will meet arch-rival Matt Hughes at UFC 123, which is scheduled to take place November 20 in Detroit, Michigan. It is widely believed that the fight will be the co-main event of a show headlined by a Light Heavyweight showdown between former UFC Light Heavyweight Champions Lyoto Machida and Quinton Jackson. ...

UFC Hall of Famer, and one of the most recognized fighter's in the sport today, Matt Hughes will step into the octagon for the 52nd time, against welterweight contender, Ricardo Almeida. A Renzo Gracie student, Almeida has made a successful transition to the 170 pound division after a well established career as a middleweight, which has seen him garner wins over the likes of Kendall Grove, Kazuo Misako, and perennial contender Nate Marquardt. Matt Hughes, has had a long and storied career in the UFC. After making his debut nearly 10 years ago, a 20 second submission loss to nemesis Dennis Hallman, Hughes would then go on to capture the welterweight title with a knockout slam over then champion Carlos Newton, and would then go on to set the precedent for 5 consecutive defenses--the most ever cemented in the welterweight division. ...

The Gracie Killer used to be PRIDE legend Kazushi Sakuraba, but recently Matt Hughes has been vying for that title.  Along with this, Gracie fighters like Royce Gracie, Renzo Gracie, and Matt Serra have all fallen to him in recent years.  Now Ricardo Almeida, a Renzo Gracie protege, will get his chance to crack the Hughes puzzle at UFC 117.  Of course, Hughes is still a pretty difficult guy to beat.  But below are some reasons that Almeida stands the best chance of all the Gracie fighters to date of upending Hughes. 1. Almeida is a big welterweight: Almeida was doing well in the UFC middleweight division, defeating fighters like Rob Yundt, Matt Horwich, and Kendall Grove.  So the fact that he's now a 170 pounder means that he's a pretty big welterweight, which is not an advantage that Gracie fighters like Serra, Royce, and Renzo enjoyed.  Hughes is still a big, strong guy, but his size and strength won't be near as obvious here as it was against the former Gracie stylists he's taken on. 2. Almeida is more than serviceable on his feet: From a defensive stand up perspective, Almeida is pretty good; in fact, he hasn't been stopped by TKO since Andrei Semenov in 2002.  And since that time he's laced them up against good stand up fighters like Matt Brown, Kendall Grove, Patrick Cote, and Nate Marquardt.  Is he excellent offensively on his feet?  No.  But he can definitely compare with Hughes there, which was Renzo's undoing.  Of the aforementioned, only Serra held a distinct advantage on his feet against Hughes. 3. Almeida has great BJJ credentials: Sure, they all did.  Still, it's worth noting that this is a guy who has placed in the top three at the ADCC on three separate occasions.  Almeida possesses a 3rd degree black belt in BJJ under Renzo Gracie.  If he gets put on his back, he can still fight.  If he ends up on top of Hughes, that's bad news for the former UFC welterweight champion. 4. Motivation: Almeida truly respects and admires Renzo Gracie; they are close.  Further, as seen in this interview, he is not turning away from the idea that this is a revenge match.  And it's a revenge match for a man that Almeida thought enough of to name his own child after.  In other words, he is motivated. In the end, does this mean that Hughes will fall to Almeida?  Not necessarily.  But Almeida should be his staunchest test since taking on Thiago Alves, let alone the most appropriate sized of all his Gracie fighter opponents to date.  Interestingly, the winner will immediately find themselves in the mix at 170.  Looking forward to this one. ...

Immediately after Matt Hughes (44-7) defeated Renzo Gracie (13-7-1) at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi, an animated Ricardo Almeida approached matchmaker Joe Silva near the Octagon steps and asked to Hughes next. Almeida wanted retribution for the Gracie Fight Team, which now has three losses to Hughes.  In addition to Renzo Gracie, Hughes has stopped Royce Gracie (UFC 60) and Matt Serra (UFC 98).  Along with Almeida, all are Gracie Jiu Jitsu black belts.  Joe Silva soon granted Almeida’s Octagon wish.  The man who made his name fighting in Japan vows to defeat Hughes – the American MMA legend – on August 7^th at UFC 117 in Oakland, CA. ...

Former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes (42-7) became the eighth person inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame on Friday. ...

Fighters.com third-ranked welterweight Jon Fitch (19-3) will fight “Cacharrao” Ricardo Almeida (11-3) at UFC 106 at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas November 21, the UFC officially announced Saturday. ...

Fighters.com and UFC Welterweight Champion "Rush" Georges St. Pierre (19-2) awaits the winner between ninth-ranked “Quick” Mike Swick (14-2) and tenth-ranked “Outlaw” Dan Hardy (22-6) at UFC 105 at M.E.N. Arena in Manchester November 14.  According to UFC President Dana White, St. Pierre will defend his title versus the winner in Britain. ...

Middleweight "Cacharrao" Ricardo Almeida (10-3) won a unanimous decision over The Ultimate Fighter 3 champ "Spyder" Kendall Grove (10-5) by scores of 30-27 times three at UFC 101 in Philadelphia Saturday night. Almeida overpowered the Hawai'ian in the clinch and scored takedowns at will, including a big slam. But, Grove fed Almeida knees in the clinch and a head-snapping uppercut as Almeida shot in the second round. Grove nearly finished "Cacharrao" in round two, fully extending an armbar before Almedia rolled free. ...

Fighters.com will post real-time results after each UFC 101 Declaration fight Saturday night. Post your predictions here before the fights. Logon often tonight and chat about the fights immediately after they end. The fight card from Philadelphia includes: "Prodigy" B.J. Penn (13-5-1) v "KenFlo" Kenny Florian (11-3) for the UFC lightweight strap Fighters.com's third-ranked light heavyweight Forrest Griffin (16-5) v UFC middleweight champ "“Spider” Anderson Silva (24-4) in 205-pound matchup ...

An injured “Cachorrao” Ricardo Almeida (9-3) has withdrawn from his middleweight bout with “Suave” Matt Horwich (23-10-1) at UFC 90 on 25 October, according to MMA Weekly. Former IFL Middleweight Champion Dan Miller (9-1) has agreed to replace him, although no official announcement has been made. Miller won his UFC debut in September, submitting “Rosedale Reaper” Rob Kimmons (21-4) in the first round via rear naked choke. Horwich was the IFL’s first-ever Middleweight Champion and will be making his UFC debut.  He most recently scored a unanimous decision over “Coyote” Joey Guel (13-7) in May. ...

New Jersey State Athletic Control Board Counsel Nick Lembo has called on mixed martial arts fans to submit their comments to the Association of Boxing Commissions Professional and Amateur MMA Rules Committee by 17 September. "We are interested in any comments," said Lembo.  "All comments will be passed on to the Committee for their consideration." Topics on the Commitee's agenda include: Adding smothering of the nostrils or mouth as a foul (as per the Montreal document). Removing manipulating the clavicle as a foul (as per the Montreal document). Removing heel kicks to the kidney as a foul (as per the Montreal document). Removing the allowance of stomps to the feet by two standing fighters  (as per the Montreal document). ...

The UFC announced Tuesday that “Cachorrao” Ricardo Almeida (9-3) will face Octagon newcomer “Suave” Matt Horwich (23-10-1) in a middleweight bout at UFC 90 just outside of Chicago 25 October. Almeida had his seven-fight win streak snapped in July with a split decision loss to “Predator” Patrick Cote (13-4), who is headlining the October event. IFL veteran Horwich won a unanimous decision over “Coyote” Joey Guel (13-6) in May. ...

From TUF to top! New UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin (16-4) demoralized and upset former Champ "Rampage" Quinton Jackson (29-6) by unanimous decision Saturday night in Las Vegas. "This is the greatest night of my life," Griffin said after toppling the odds. Though Jackson won the first round by staggering Griffin with a left, then dropping the challenger with a right uppercut, Griffin laid the groundwork for his decision victory by whittling away at Jackson's lead leg with low kicks. “He jacked my leg up,” Jackson admitted. In the second round, Griffin buckled the champ with a leg kick and passed to mount on the mat, grinding elbows into Rampage's head, but doing little damage. Rampage limped into round three searching for a knockout, but managed only a combination that Griffin weathered, though he admitted, "Every punch that motherfucker threw hurt.” Jackson scored a fourth-round takedown; but, Griffin wrapped a leg triangle, then transitioned to an omoplata when Jackson freed himself from the triangle. Jackson stood out of the submission and cracked Griffin with a right hand, opening a cut on the challenger's right eyelid, then followed with a left as the bell ended the round. It was back-and-forth and both fighters felt they needed the final round to win; but, Jackson seemed disappointed by the situation, while Griffin was inspired. Griffin got back to game plan in the fifth round, stinging Rampage's lead leg, as Jackson threw desperate haymakers without landing. The judges scored the fight 48-46 twice and 49-46 once for Griffin. Fighters.com scored it 48-46 for Griffin, our new champion. “He whupped my ass,” Jackson admitted after the battle; but, Griffin said, "It was close and I think we’re gonna have to do it again.” ...

"For all you Rampage haters, you might as well get used to me," Fighters.com's Light Heavyweight Champion "Rampage" Quinton Jackson (28-6) announced to the crowd at the UFC 86 weigh-ins in Las Vegas Friday.  "I'ma be here for a long time," he added, then flashed the peace sign. Rampage weighed in at 205-pounds, as did eighth-ranked title challenger Forrest Griffin (15-4). Xtreme Couture's Griffin said, "It's nice to fight in your hometown.  Thank you, guys." Griffin smirked in the gaze of an intense Rampage stare down. All fighters on Saturday night's card made weight. Only lightweight Gleison Tibau (15-5) missed the mark, but by the allowed one pound at 156-pounds.  Tibau will fight "Daddy" Joe Stevenson (33-8). 6'4" lightweight Corey Hill (2-0) looked absolutely emaciated at 155-pounds. ...

It's with a heavy heart that Fighters.com's June Middleweight Rankings saw legendary "Hollywood" Dan Henderson (22-7) fall from the top ten. But, the cold, hard ledger reveals Hendo' hasn't had a win at 185-pounds in two years. Hendo's previous rank was filled by tenth-ranked "Mayhem" Jason Miller (20-6), falling a notch to newly ninth-ranked "Jacare" Ronaldo Souza (9-1). Souza debuted in the top ten after pulling off a tight two-round unanimous decision over Miller in DREAM's Middleweight Grand Prix 15 June. Also in June Japanese action, "Grabaka Hitman" Kazuo Misaki (20-8-2) cemented his seventh ranking with a UD over "Pink Pounder" Logan Clark at Sengoku. Misaki now seeks revenge over new Sengoku add-on, seventh-ranked "Twinkle Toes" Frank Trigg (16-6). No Sengoku match-up has been announced for Trigg; but, one would assume Misaki's home nation promotion wants to match the old enemies as soon as Trigg is ready. Sixth-ranked "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler (15-4) was pulling away from "Hands of Stone" Scott Smith (13-4) in the third round of their EliteXC title fight 31 May in Newark, west of New York City, when a thumb to Smith's eye rendered the result a No Contest. Lawler held steady in June, as did the entire middleweight top five. ...

Fighters.com's numero dos heavyweight "The Natural" Randy Couture (16-8) told CagePotato today, "The exclusivity has to go away or else we’re going to have the same problems with becoming a fractured sport the way boxing has." With respect to MMA's classiest act, I disagree. The UFC's stranglehold over the top of the sport has ensured the best fighters fight each other. The best match-up in boxing right now is WBC welterweight titlist Floyd Mayweather, Jr. versus WBA and IBF welterweight titlist Miguel Cotto. For those not in the boxing know, it ain't happenin'. Mayweather is ducking the young bull Cotto for more lucrative, less competitive rematches with Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton.  Those happen to be match-ups Mayweather is more likely to win.  Hell, he's already beat them both. It's the UFC's umbrella over the sport that has made sure champions fight contenders, not pretenders who allow champions to hold on to belts maximizing the marketability of their reign. You see, when free agent fighters and their management pick their opponents, whether in boxing or MMA, they tend towards safe fights. Exhibit A:  Everyone's favorite MMA ducker, sixth-ranked heavyweight "The Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko (27-1). While a showdown with third-ranked "Babyface Assassin" Josh Barnett (21-5) has been an option, Emelianenko has picked fights against middleweight "The Law" Matt Lindland (20-5) and kickboxer "Techno Goliath" Hong Man Choi (1-1). Such is matchmaking when managers and free agent fighters seek to prolong their marketability versus the safest reasonable opponents. I mean, Lindland and Choi are both world champions, right?  Nevermind that their championships were in a different weight class and sport respectively than Emelianenko. I'm not advocating for the UFC.  I could care less about which promoter logo is atop a fight card.  It's the card itself that interests me.  The fact is, the UFC's centralized organization of the sport has produced the best fights and, by definition, avoided "becoming a fractured sport the way boxing has." Notes From Around MMA * Top Strikeforce lightweight contender “The Punk” Josh Thomson (14-2) maintains “The Carpenter” Clay Guida (23-9) oiled up before their March 2006 title fight, won by Guida by UD.  Thomson claims, “I mentioned it to Clay's brother one time.  I said, ‘Clay was really slippery in that fight…’  He just looked at me, shrugged, and said, ‘You do what you have to do to win.’  I just thought, ‘Whatever, douche bag.’  But, Clay…I think his career has leveled off.  He got a few big wins, but he's taken some losses the last couple of years.” * Couture (16-8) told IGN he’s pursuing a video game deal with EA Sports.  He also claimed, “I don't care where the fight happens,” in response to a question about fighting sixth-ranked Emelinanenko in the UFC.  Couture had previously expressed his desire not to fight Emelianenko in the UFC. * UFC middleweight Rob Yundt (6-1), who lost his UFC debut in February to “Cachorrao” Ricardo Almeida (9-2), will return to the Octagon 21 June on the TUF 7 finale versus one of the TUF contestants.  The UFC won’t reveal Yundt’s opponent to him until that fighter is eliminated on the show. * The Tennessee House of Representatives passed a bill to legalize and sanction MMA in the state by a vote of 95-2.  The bill is held-up in the Senate by Senators Dewayne Bunch of Cleveland and Bo Watson of Hixson.  The two southeast Tennessee legislators have attached an amendment earmarking the profits from MMA events for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Division I wrestling team.  According to the Nashville Post, the amendment may violate NCAA rules.  Tennesseans are urged to contact their state Senators and urge the passing of the bill next week without the earmarking amendment. * Fourth-ranked welterweight “The Terror” Matt Serra (9-5) and UFC light heavyweight "The Hammer" Matt Hamill (4-1), both New York state residents, and UFC executive Marc Ratner were lobbying New York state Senators Tuesday to legalize and regulate MMA in the state.  A bill legalizing and regulating the sport in New York has passed the state’s assembly, but is opposed in the senate. * Canadian kickboxer “Black Sniper” Michael McDonald (1-1), 2002 and 2004 K-1 North American Grand Prix Champion, won a decision over American kickboxer “The Jet” Rick Roufus (1-1) in an MMA bout fought under the radar in Romania last month. * “Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-5) and “Kimbo Slice” Kevin Ferguson (1-1) will go head-to-head 31 May in a ratings battle.  SpikeTV will air Ultimate Iceman to compete directly with CBS EliteXC Saturday Night Fights at 9:00 PM EST.  SpikeTV will air an entire day of UFC programming on 31 May, beginning at 11:00 AM EST. * Star magazine reported that actress/singer Mandy Moore has a crush on top-ranked welterweight “Rush” Georges St. Pierre (16-2).  Moore was in the UFC 83 crowd last month when St. Pierre claimed the UFC welterweight title from Serra (9-5). * You know it’s a slow MMA news cycle when eighth-ranked lightweight “The Muscle Shark” Sean Sherk (32-2-1) testing negative for steroids in a Nevada State Athletic Commission test is a headline.  Of course he tested negative!  The headline is if he had tested positive…again. * As I concluded after the first episode of this season's The Ultimate Fighter, Jeremy May (5-5) is a douche bag and nothing could've made me happier than seeing him get smashed by fellow-Cincinnatian Matt Brown (9-6) last night. ...

The UFC has announced three additional fights on 5 July's UFC 86 card in Las Vegas. Fighters.com's fourth-ranked welterweight "Kos" Josh Koscheck (10-2) is set to face rugged vet "Lights Out" Chris Lytle (25-15-5). Both fighters come off exciting TKOs in their previous bouts. In February, Lytle ran roughshod over UFC debuting Kyle Bradley (13-5) in just 33 seconds. "Kos" and "McLovin" Dustin Hazelett (10-4) traded evenly for a round before Koschek tagged "McLovin" with punches and kicks 1:24 into round two in March. Hazelett's trainer, Jorge Gurgel (12-3), will fight 6'1" "Magrino" Cole Miller (13-3) at 86. Miller of Georgia comes off his first UFC loss to Jeremy Stephens (13-2), a second-round TKO in January. Gurgel won a unanimous decision over John Halverson (16-6) in March. Rising middleweight "Cachorrao" Ricardo Almeida (9-2) will face streaking "The Predator" Patrick Cote (12-4) on the card. Cote has won four straight, three consecutive by first-round stoppage.  Most recently "The Predator" devoured Andrew McFedries (6-3) in 1:44. Almeida returned to MMA after a four-year hiatus to submit Rob Yundt(6-1) in a guillotine choke in February. "Cachorrao" boasts wins over Fighters.com's eighth-ranked middleweight "Grabaka Hitman" Kazuo Misaki (19-8-2) and UFC title contender Nathan Marquardt (26-7-2) in the early '90s. ...

"That's why [Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira] is the best in the world," former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia proclaimed after suffering a guillotine submission loss to the Brazilian in the interim heavyweight title main event at UFC 81 Saturday night. The fight pitted former world champions from the UFC and PRIDE, but was overshadowed by the MMA debut of former NCAA and pro wrestling champion Brock Lesnar. Significance was also diminished by Randy Couture's departure from the UFC while holding the title after defeating Sylvia in March 2007. 6'8" Sylvia pot-shotted the Sao Paulo native from the opening ding and occasionally popped a power shot in Nogueira's mug, even dropping him with a combo in the first session and again in the second. The Miletich-trained "Maine-iac" fiercely dominated the opening two rounds. Stubborn Nogueira had no quit, even as his face began to swell at the end of Sylvia's tremendous reach. "Minotauro" attempted takedowns; but, Sylvia's balance is exceptional for a big man. The train from Maine derailed in the third when Nogueira's notorious resilience muscled the battle to the mat. "He went for the guillotine, which we knew he was going to do," a distraught Sylvia explained post-fight. Nogueira became the first fighter to hold both UFC and PRIDE heavyweight titles when Tim Sylvia tapped out at 1:28 of the third round. "That's what he does to everybody," Sylvia echoed the sentiments of MMA faithful who've watched a battered Big Nog pull out seemingly impossible victories before. Nogueira's victory sets up a possible first defense versus French kickboxer Cheick Kongo, if Kongo can beat Heath Herring in Columbus next month.  But, both Fabricio Werdum and Andrei Arlovski have claims to the top contender-ship too. Sylvia may be headed for a history-loaded rematch with the man who broke his arm: Frank Mir. Another former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Mir, defended MMA's honor against powerhouse rookie Brock Lesnar by submitting him in a kneebar at 1:30 of the first round. Mir got dumped on his ass early by the massive Minnesotan who hovered and hammered fists and elbows. "He was so strong!"  Mir explained in the locker room. Tactic and technique determined the outcome though.  "It wasn't a textbook, perfect finish, but I ended up doing it 80% right." 80% is all it takes versus an inexperienced opponent.  As Lesnar stood to yank his arm from an armbar attempt, Mir secured a leg and rolled into a kneebar. "Frank [Mir] and I have some unfinished business," Tim Sylvia had taunted at a pre-fight press conference. The high profile "W" for Mir makes that rematch marketable. At 185-pounds, Nathan Marquardt entered the Octagon off a loss to division champ Anderson Silva to fight 79-17-5 Jeremy Horn, a late replacement opponent. The veteran Horn absorbed punishment on the mat before nearly catching Marquardt in a gogoplata in the first round. It was Marquardt, however, who applied a guillotine choke during a scramble and tapped Horn at 1:37 of the second round. After a four-year hiatus from MMA, Ricardo Almeida invoked nostalgia over his earlier successes by submitting another late replacement, undefeated Alaskan Rob Yundt, in a guillotine choke at 1:08 of round one. Almeida is a welcome addition to the scant 185-pound division. Lightweights Tyson Griffin and Gleison Tibau tussled for three exciting rounds to open the televised card. The shorter fighter, Griffin, popped Tibau with precise punches while Tibau seemed to take down the wrestler at will. In the end, the judges saw it unanimously for Tyson Griffin, though Gleison Tibau lost no one's respect. "Lights Out" Chris Lytle treated 13-5 Kyle Bradley's head like a speed bag in a 33-second TKO victory. Light heavyweight Tim Boetsch reminded MMA fans of "Tank" Abbott in tossing Oklahoman David Heath to the mat and pummelling a TKO out of him at 4:52 of round one. Terry Martin suffered another disappointing defeat, this time in a unanimous decision to "The Beastman" Marvin Eastman. The event opened with a spirited lightweight scrap won in split decision by Robert Emerson over Japan's Keita Nakamura. ...