Garza, an import from the WEC wanted to prove that his first-round knockout win over Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Fredson Paixao at “The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale” this past December was no fluke, and that he had the skills to hang with those in the UFC.

MacDonald, meanwhile, was hoping to make good on his second foray inside the octagon. He came back to the organization last May on the heels of a three-fight win streak, taking on John Salter at UFC 113. Jason suffered a nasty leg injury which kept him out of the better part of the year until his return earlier tonight.

Both Jason and Pablo showed that they have the skills to remain factors in the UFC with their first-round submission victories over their well-respected opponents.

Garza was taking on lethal striker and Canadian Yves Jabouin, who hails out of the Tri-Star gym which boasts names such as Kenny Florian as well as welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre. After an early exchange away on the feet which saw the faster Yves get the better of the stand-up–even dropping Garza with a low-kick–Pablo clinched Jabouin against the fence hoping to get the takedown.

As Jabouin continued to press forward, Pablo jumped for a flying-triangle, which pulls Yves down to the mat with him. Garza immediately cinches up the hold, and it’s tight. Yves is somehow surviving, and Garza continues to apply pressure. After transitioning from mount to his back on the mat, Garza finally earns the tapout in at 4:31 of the opening round.

The victory now moves Garza to 2-0 in the UFC, and he will be in the thick of things in the featherweight division.

MacDonald knew that a win here would keep his hopes of remaining in the UFC in tact, though he had a tall task in front of him in Ryan Jensen, a fighter who was been described by many as somebody who has the potential to be one of the best fighters in the division, though less than spectacular performances have suggested otherwise.

Early in the bout, MacDonald was hunting for the takedown after dipping away from strikes thrown by the wily Jensen. Against the fence, Ryan was searching for a guillotine choke, and quickly slaps on the hold and falls to his back. Initially the hold looked to be a fight-ender, though MacDonald snakes his head free. Jason transitions to the back, but with one hook in Jensen manages to shuck MacDonald to his back—mistake. The Canadian, who recieved a wild ovation at the Rogers Centre tonight before the 55,000 capacity crowd in Toronto, immediately locked up a triangle choke in the transition. Jensen tried to pop MacDonald with a few shots while in the hold, though the fists quickly turn into taps.

Jason earned the submission win with less than two-minutes of the opening round, reminiscent of his earlier UFC days when he finished “The Ultimate Fighter” veterans Chris Leben and Ed Herman with first-round submissions as well.

Now, “The Athlete” puts a “W” back into the win column and will be an early candidate for “Submission of the Night”.

Jason MacDonald is one of the near-dozen (ten, to be exact) Canadian fighters currently scheduled to compete at UFC 129. He’s also one of the most experienced in terms of pure numbers: MacDonald is a veteran of almost forty fights. MacDonald’s first run in the UFC started all the way back in 2006, and he entered the Octagon with a pretty respectable 16-7 record. To this day, MacDonald’s defining moment in the UFC came when he submitted Chris Leben at UFC 66.

Following that fight, things took a rather rocky turn for the wily veteran. MacDonald would lose one and then win one, in that order, until a first-round TKO loss to a returning Nate Quarry gave MacDonald a two-fight losing-streak. MacDonald was released shortly thereafter, and lost one more fight in regional promotions before going on a three-fight win-streak that won him a second shot in the UFC. Unfortunately, MacDonald would lose his UFC comeback due to a freak injury that broke his leg. MacDonald has been sitting on the sidelines, training and healing, ever since.

His opponent, Ryan Jensen, has also had a rather tumultuous UFC career. Jensen would enter the UFC with a very respectable 11-1 record. Even better, those eleven wins were all by stoppage: eight submissions and three TKO’s. Jensen seemed to be another hot prospect, and the Middleweight division certainly seemed in need of those kinds of fighters after Anderson Silva’s destruction of the division. Unfortunately, Jensen would be promptly and quickly submitted in back-to-back fights, losing first to Thales Leites via first-round armbar and then to Demian Maia via first-round Rear Naked Choke.

After exiting the UFC on the heels of those two losses, Jensen would lose one more time in regional promotions before a two-fight win-streak earned him another shot in the UFC. Jensen would promptly get submitted again, but finally scored his first UFC win back at the “UFC Fight Night 19” event. Jensen’s current run in the UFC has seen him win two fights by first-round submission while losing three fights, all by submission.

I think both of these fighter’s records tell some pretty interesting tales. I hate to say this, but I think the loser of this fight may once again be released by the UFC. Hopefully they bring out the best in each other and put on a good enough performance that both men are allowed to stay inside the Octagon.

Here’s the interesting thing about this fight: I don’t think either of these two are particularly bad fighters, I just think they’ve faced some really tough tests in the UFC. Look at some of the fighters MacDonald has lost to: Travis Lutter, Nate Quarry, Demian Maia, Yushin Okami, Rich Franklin. Likewise, let’s look at some of Jensen’s big losses: Demian Maia, Thales Leites. The one thing all those fighters have in common is that they’ve all fought for the UFC Middleweight Championship.

I know some fans may throw the tired cliché of “if you can’t stand the heat then get out of the kitchen” in answer to the point I just raised, but I honestly do think that both these fighters do belong in the UFC. Maybe not against the best the UFC has to offer, but they can produce entertaining fights. And I definitely think their fight at UFC 129 will be just that.

And that’s it for part three of my twelve-part series, fans and friends. Be sure to stay tuned as I continue to take an in-depth look at all twelve UFC 129 fights. And what about you, fans and friends? Any thoughts on this match-up?

Maximum Fighting Championship CEO Mark Pavelich, who wouldn’t confirm the Eastman v MacDonald fight Thursday, did confirm the Lutter v MacDonald fight Saturday.

Lutter hasn’t fought since getting TKO’d by “Ace” Rich Franklin (26-4) at UFC 83 in Montréal in April 2008 and subsequently getting axed by the UFC. He underwent knee surgery on his right knee in October 2008.

MacDonald was cut from the UFC last May after getting TKO’d in the first round by “Rock” Nathan Quarry (11-3) at UFC 97 in Montréal.

Eastman has not replied to Fighters.com’s request for information about his claim he was scheduled to fight MacDonald.

Maximum Fighting Championship CEO Mark Pavelich replied to Fighters.com’s request for confirmation, “This is not confirmed.” However, MacDonald mentioned in a 4 July blog post at Sportsnet Ontario that Pavelich had offered the fight to both fighters, but Eastman had declined to drop from 205 pounds to 185 pounds to fight MacDonald at middleweight.

“[Eastman] apparently said he can’t come down to that weight any more,” MacDonald wrote. “But he fought Denis Kang at 185 two fights ago, so I don’t know that I believe that.

“He wants to fight at a catchweight of 195. But I’d say that’s just to give him an advantage of not having to cut as much. I probably weigh more than him right now.”

Eastman didn’t indicate the weight at which he’ll figh MacDonald in October.

MacDonald was cut from the UFC last May after getting TKO’d in the first round by “Rock” Nathan Quarry (11-3) at UFC 97 in Montréal. He went 5-5 over two-and-a-half years with the UFC.

Eastman TKO’d Aron Lofton (6-2) in the second round at MFC 21 in Edmonton last May and is scheduled to welcome “Brazilian Tiger” Ricardo Arona (13-5) back to active competition at Bitetti Combat IV in Rio de Janeiro 12 September. Eastman has compiled a 1-4 record in sporadic Octagon action.

MacDonald lost a unanimous decision to Eastman at World Extreme Fighting 14 in Las Vegas in 2005.

The Brazilian Gouveia came out with a leg kick. MacDonald followed a right-left punch combo with a single-leg takedown, but Gouveia refused to stay down. Trading strikes, Gouveia dropped MacDonald with a hard left jab, and immediately fell on him with hammerfists and elbows, splitting open MacDonald’s head.

Referee Josh Rosenthal stopped Gouveia’s assault of MacDonald at 2:18 of round one.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission would not allow Gouveia to cut the remaining pounds for safety reasons.  Instead the match will proceed at a catch weight of 189 pounds, with Gouveia forfeiting 20 percent of his purse to MacDonald.

Gouveia used to fight at light heavyweight.  He made his middleweight debut in August, submitting Ryan Jensen (13-6) with a second-round armbar.

All other fighters on the card made weight.

Following the broadcast the UFC announced the full lineup for the live finale of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir 13 December in Las Vegas.

Also on the card are a previously reported bout between middleweights “The Athlete” Jason MacDonald (19-10) and Wilson Gouveia (11-5), and a rematch between Kevin Burns (7-1) and “Rumble” Anthony Johnson (5-2).

Rounding out the main card is a lightweight match-up between TUF 8 competitors Junie Allen Browning (2-0) and David Kaplan (0-0).

The remaining ten competitors will also fight:

“The Experiment” Krzysztof Soszynski (16-8-1) v Shane Primm (3-0)

Eliot Marshall (4-1) v Jules Bruchez (1-0)

Kyle Kingsbury (8-1) v Tom Lawlor (4-1)

Shane Nelson (9-2) v George Roop (8-1)

Rolando Delgado (5-3-1) v John Polakowski (2-1)

In the semi-finals, Nover defeated Roop via first-round kimura, Escudero submitted Browning with a D’arce choke in round two, Bader won a unanimous decision over Marshall, and Magalhaes armbarred Soszynski in the first round.

Johnson will look to avenge his loss to Burns via eye poke in July, which was severe enough to require surgery.

MacDonald’s manager, Mark Pavelich, confirmed the fight on MMA Weekly Radio Wednesday.

MacDonald submitted “Punisher” Jason Lambert (23-9) with a rear naked choke at UFC 88 in September, just one month after he himself tapped out to Demian Maia’s (8-0) rear naked choke.

Gouveia armbarred Ryan Jensen (13-6) in round two at UFC: Fight Night 15 in September.

But, that’s not explicitly what UFC President Dana White told The Sun 17 Octoberin the report that first announced that Bisping and either Hendo’ or “Ace” would coach on the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter.

In fact, White promised The Sunthat Bisping would coach TUF 9 “win, lose or draw” versus “Crippler” Chris Leben (18-5) at UFC 89 in Birmingham 18 October.

It doesn’t make sense that Bisping would earn a fight versus either currently ranked and historically relevant mixed martial artist, Henderson or Franklin, if he drew or lost versus popular, but unranked Leben.

Does it?

Franklin’s agent, J.T. Stewart, agreed with Fighters.com, saying, “Doesn’t make sense to me either.”

Why match two ranked fighters at a higher weight division than they’re currently fighting in, only to match the winner in a gatekeeper role in the division the UFC just moved them out of?

In fact, Franklin told Fighters.com before his “W” in the 205-pound division over “Hammer” Matt Hamill (4-2) at UFC 88 in Atlanta 6 September that the UFC asked him to move to light heavyweight specifically because he wasn’t going to get match-ups versus middleweight contenders because he was likely to spoil title fights for Middleweight Champion “Spider” Anderson Silva (23-4), who has already beat Franklin twice and Henderson once.

A loyal and model UFC soldier, Franklin has accepted his assignment and set out on a new training routine aimed at filling out his frame for the 205-pound division.

It’s plain unfair to ask Franklin or Henderson to reverse course and drop back to 185-pounds to vet Bisping for a title shot versus Silva.

That doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen, especially in light of the quick rise from TUF to top of Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin (16-4) and fourth-ranked “Sugar” Rashad Evans (12-0-1).

When asked specifically if Franklin was going to fight Bisping if he beats Hendo’, Stewart only responded, “Who knows…,” then added, “Rich will not answer any questions that have anything to do with a future fight other than the fight that is in front of him.”

No.  A better match-up for Bisping is “Athlete” Jason MacDonald(21-10).  Let’s brush the haze of over-hype from our eyes and realize that MacDonald is right where Bisping is at in the 185-pound division.

Bisping is a quickly developing prospect; but, Franklin or Henderson are both too much, too fast for the Brit.  Bisping would lose and set back a possible title shot 18 months to two years.  That would screech to a halt the best thing the UFC’s got going for it in the U.K.

Bisping has been near tappingto “King of Rock’n'Rumble” Elvis Sinosic (8-11-2) and “Chainsaw” Charles McCarthy(10-5).  Bisping beat both fighters handily – as he should’ve – but, that hole remains in Bisping’s game ready to be exploited.

Enter MacDonald, a helluva slick submission grappler who has only lost in the Octagon to the 185-pound division’s contenders: Franklin, sixth-ranked “Thunder” Yushin Okami (22-4), and Demian Maia(8-0).  Also worth mentioning, MacDonald was able to stop Leben in the second round at UFC 66 while Bisping could only manage a unanimous decision over Leben at UFC 89.

But, MacDonald has always had trouble with slick stand-up games like Bisping’s.

MacDonald is the best match-up for Bisping right now, not Franklin or Henderson; and, Bisping v MacDonald could be set-up in time for UFC 93.

Make this fight!

Liddell lay unconcious on the canvas for several minutes after the punch.

Evans jitter-bugged around a stalking Liddell the entire fight.  Liddell never really got a beat on him, but landed a straight right in the first round.  Evans back-pedalled and taunted Liddell with a dance.

In the second round, Liddell lunged for an uppercut and took Evans’s counter right hook square on the jaw to end the fight at 1:51.

Franklin Finishes Friend

“Ace” Rich Franklin (24-3) TKO’d his friend and former training partner “Hammer” Matt Hamill (4-2) at 39 seconds of round three with a left kick to Hamill’s floating rib in Franklin’s return to 205.

Franklin had landed the same kick consistently through the first two rounds.  In the third, the kick dropped Hamill and Franklin landed two punches before referee Mario Yamasaki waved the fight off.

Franklin took a deep cut over his right eye from a Hamill uppercut in the first round.  In the second round, Yamasaki asked a referee to take a look at the cut.

“I’m walking around with a black eye already; so, it wasn’t too bad,” Franklin said of the cut after the fight.

The fight continued; and, Hamill chose to stand with “Ace” after several takedown attempts were resisted.

Of his new weight class, Franklin said, “Cutting weight this week was awesome; but, pushing around another 20 pounds wasn’t.”

Marquardt Kayos Kampmann

Middleweight Nathan Marquardt (27-8-2) quickly KO’d kickboxer “Hitman” Martin Kampmann (13-2) at 1:22 of round one Saturday night in Atlanta.

After the fight, Marquardt said, “I knew I was better and, though he was a kickboxer, I knew I could take him standing.”

Marquardt connected early with a right head kick that plopped Kampmann on his ass.  Kampmann bounced back up, but ate Marquardt’s straights while backpedaling to cage.  At the fence, Marquardt dug an uppercut into Kampmann’s chin.  Kampmann fell and the fight was stopped.

Pellegrino Brutalizes Tavares

Before Saturday night, only two fighters had ever defeated lightweight Brazilian Thiago Tavares (13-3).  “Batman” Kurt Pellegrino (12-4) beat him twice in Atlanta.

Officially, the judges scored the unanimous decision 29-27 twice and 29-8, all for Pellegrino.

Pellegrino won a 10-8 first round on two score cards, dropping Tavares with a flush right hook and crackling uppercut.  On the mat, Pellegrino’s elbows opened up cuts on each of Tavares’s temples and under his righ eyelid.

In the second round, the only round Tavares won (paritally due to an inadvertant eye poke by Tavares), Pellegrino squeezed an armbar from his back; and, Tavares appeared to tap; but, referee Yves Lavigne missed the call.

After the fight, Pellegrino said, “I know it was super duper tight.  Yeah, he tapped.  All I remember him saying was ‘you couldn’t get me.’”

Pellegrino eeked out a close third between two exhausted fighters to put away the unanimous decision.

Barbarian Chops Down Patt

After peppering Octagon rookie Michael Patt (12-3) with right hooks, “Barbarian” Tim Boetsch (8-2) crashed a straight right through Patt’s guard.

Patt took a seat on the mat with a split lip and a faint idea where he was.  Boetsch pounded the fight closed at 2:03.

Boetsch said after the fight, “I’m pumped.  I trained real hard to get an explosive finish like this.”

Kim Barely Beats Brown

“Stun Gun” Dong Hyun Kim (11-0-1) remained undefeated versus Matt Brown (7-7)…barely.

Kim won a split decision 29-28 twice and 28-29 for Brown.  Fighters.com scored it 29-28 for Kim; but, UFC commentator Joe Rogan told the disappointed crowd he thought Brown had won.

Kim rode Brown’s back most of round one, nearly finishing Brown in a rear naked choke while Brown stood.

Apparently, that was the controversial round as two judges and Fighters.com scored it 10-9 for Kim while Cecil Peoples scored round one 10-9 for Brown.

Kim was sluggish in round two.  Brown took advantage, capturing Kim in his Thai clinch and hammering knees to the Korean’s midsection.

In round three, Brown walked right through a square Kim left hook; but, Kim followed up with a toss into Brown’s full guard.  Kim opened up a deep cut under Brown’s left cheekbone with a slick elbow.

Kim lamented, “I hate to go to a decision.  Next time I’m going to be different.”

Brown made clear after the fight, “I don’t fight for the judges.  I fight for the fans and to finish.”

MacDonald Avenges Maia Loss

Middleweight “Athlete” Jason MacDonald (21-10) willed a second-round submission ”W” over “Punisher” Jason Lambert (23-9) after nearly being forced to tap in a guilltoine himself at the end of round one.

MacDonald said after the fight, “[The guillotine] was pretty tight; but, my head was toward the screen and I knew I could hold my breath for six seconds.”

MacDonald held on and dumped Lambert on his ass to open the second round, then passed to mount.  Lambert rolled right into J-Mac’s rear naked choke at 1:20.

“I knew he was getting tired from making the cut to 185 pounds,” MacDonald said, ”so I knew if I could take it into the later rounds I would get him.”

Chonan Earns Split Decision

Two of the three cageside judges prevented welterweight “Jucao” Roan Carneiro (12-8) from serving “Piranha” Ryo Chonan (15-8) a cold dish of revenge for 2005 TKO loss.

Chonan won a split decision by 29-28 twice and 28-29 once in favor of Carneiro.  Fighters.com scored the fight for Carneiro 29-28.

Carneiro dominated round one, flopping “Piranha” on his back and chiseling a cut over Chonan’s right eye with elbows.  Earlier in the round, Carneiro had nearly scored an omoplata transitioned from a triangle; but, Chonan rolled free.

Chonan won the second round by stuffing Carneiro’s shot and out wrestling him while landing infrequent punches.  The crowd pleaded with referee Herb Dean to stand the fighters; but, Dean let them tussle for position.

Chonan stuffed Carneiro’s shot again in the third, but rolled into Carneiro’s guard.  Carneiro landed a few shots before Chonan regained his feet.  Chonan gained top position before the round ended, but did little damage.

Hendo’ Earns First UFC “W” Since 1998

“It’s been awhile,” said “Hollywood” Dan Henderson (23-7) after squeaking a unanimous decision “W” over “Toquinho” Rousimar Palhares (8-2) passed the judges by scores of 30-27 twice and 29-28.

A timid Hendo’ wanted no part of Palhares’s Brazilian jiu-jiu, consistently waving off the ground game throughout the three rounds.

Instead, “Hollywood” stalked with his devastating right hand cocked.

“Normally I’m more aggressive,” he said, “so, I apologize about that.

Palhares shot often, almost all of them stuffed by Henderson.  Palhares also peppered Hendo’ with an impressive array of kicks and nearly locked in two knee bars.

Hendo’ only landed his overhand right cleanly with ten seconds left in the fight, dropping Palhares.  Hendo’s pounced with two more overhands to steal the round.

Saturday in Atlanta, MacDonald enters the Octagon for the second time in less than a month versus “Punisher” Jason Lambert (23-8) and intends to make Lambert feel the 20 pounds Lambert is cutting to make 185 pounds for the first time.

Fighters.com’s fourth-ranked light heavyweight “Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-5) bounced in place as reporters lined-up to interview the former UFC champion before his fight versus “Sugar” Rashad Evans (11-0-1) Saturday night.

Playful and boisterous, Liddell told Fighters.com he was ready to fight Evans today in a video interview that will be posted shortly.

Evans was a bit more low-key, focusing on the biggest fight of his career and rolling with middleweight training partner Nathan Marquardt (26-8-2), who fights “Hitman” Martin Kampmann (13-1) Saturday night.

Co-main event second-ranked middleweight “Ace” Rich Franklin (23-3), moving to 205 Saturday versus former training partner “Hammer” Matt Hamill (4-1), skipped his scheduled session.

Sources in Franklin’s camp alternately told Fighters.com that Franklin wasn’t feeling well and that he was eating to maintain the weight of his new division.

Neither excuse gives much solace to Fighters.com after Franklin’s comments about his uncertainty about fighting his former training partner and moving to 205 pounds.

Especially since Hamill, who was late for his session because he and his girlfriend were shopping (a better excuse), was like a kid with a new toy when talking about the biggest fight of his career versus his “hero”.

“Athlete” Jason MacDonald (20-10) and Kampmann both attended too, but neither actually worked out.

Japanese fighters “Piranha” Ryo Chonan (14-8) and ninth-ranked welterweight “Zenko” Yoshiyuki Yoshida (10-2) also attended, but only interviewed with the Japanese press.

According to Sportsnet, Day is suffering from an elbow and bicep injury.

“There is no range of motion in my arm, I can’t rotate it all,” Day said.  “Good news for JayMac though.”

MacDonald was defeated earlier this month by Demain Maia (8-0) by rear naked choke, and sees this as “a chance to erase a loss that just happened.”  He added, “If you fall off the horse you have to get right back on.”

The win facilitates an apparent New Year’s Eve champion-versus-champion rematch between St. Pierre and Fighters.com’s Lightweight Champion B.J. Penn (13-4-1), who was invited into the Octagon after the main event to challenge St. Pierre, saying, “I want to put this fight together.”

St. Pierre accepted Penn’s challenge, proclaiming, “I’m a proud champion.”

In the co-main event, Brock Lesnar (2-1) dominated a three-round unanimous decision over Fighters.com’s eighth-ranked heavyweight “Texas Crazy Horse” Heath Herring (28-14) by scores of 30-26 three times.

“I fell off the horse,” Lesnar told the 15,082 spectator hometown crowd referring to his Octagon debut loss to former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir (11-3), “but, tonight I got on that stallion and rode it out of town, baby! Wooo!”

Fighters.com’s seventh-ranked lightweight “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (10-3) won a blow-out unanimous decision over “El Matador” Roger Huerta (20-2-1) by 30-27 on all three judges’ score cards in a UFC top contender bout.

“I trained to not got to the judges,” a somber Florian confessed after the fight. “A little disappointed in myself, but I’m going to learn from this.”

An even more disappointed, but dapperly dressed Huerta in vest and tie insisted after his loss, “I played into his gameplan. I made mistakes and I’ve got to fix those things.”

Florian’s victory and presumed ascension to the UFC’s top lightweight contendership spot leaves the Boston native in limbo after the UFC’s promotion of a champion-versus-champion showdown between St. Pierre and Penn.

One got the feeling Florian knew before his victory that a win didn’t earn him an immediate title shot when he replied to UFC commentator Joe Rogan’s question about a title fight, “We’ll wait and see.”

Florian beat Huerta walking away, literally.

In round one, Florian ducked under Huerta’s unwieldy haymakers and put “El Matador” on the mat, then mounted him. Huerta rolled into a Florian rear naked choke, but defended successfully.

In round two, Florian continued to let Huerta come to him, backpedaling and tagging Huerta with right hooks as Huerta marched aggressively forward.

“I was chasing him in the fight and that’s something I shouldn’t have done,” admitted Huerta, then he chided Florian, “If I wouldn’t have chased him, there wouldn’t have been a fight.”

In round three, Florian zapped Huerta with a front kick to the face, the second one Florian connected in the fight.

Florian praised, “I had him in some tough positions, had him rocked a few times, but he came back. He has a heart of a champion. That’s what I expected.”

St. Pierre’s vanquished challenger, American Kickboxing Academy’s Fitch, showed the heart of a champion too in his first title fight.

Despite being floored in the first round by a St. Pierre straight right as Fitch launched a leg kick, Fitch, bloodied and stunned, battled into round two through an onslaught of punches and elbows from a mounted St. Pierre.

“I rock him,” St. Pierre said after the fight. “He’s got a very good chin.”

St. Pierre yanked the reigns in a paced round two, which Fighters.com scored 10-9 for Fitch after Fitch pummeled St. Pierre’s body and landed a clean left hook to St. Pierre’s head.

“I was not in trouble,” St. Pierre insisted. “I was trying to pace myself because after the first time I rock him and I couldn’t finish him, I was like, ‘Man, this guy, I’m going to have to almost to kill him to win.’”

Round two would be the last round in which Fitch would challenge St. Pierre.

St. Pierre took Fitch down at will throughout the five rounds and, in round three, replayed the G’n'P onslaught that Fitch endured in round one.

The damage accumulated; and, Fitch’s stand-up, which, ironically, produced the former wrestling All-American’s best offense, grew sloppier.

St. Pierre began to land cleaner shots and more often, including a spinning backfist in round four that drove Fitch to the cage.

Round five was dominated on the mat by St. Pierre; but, both fighters were spent and produced little meaningful offense in the round.

“This loss is maybe the best thing that happened to [Fitch],” said St. Pierre. “It will only make him stronger.”

In heavyweight undercard action, Cheick Kongo (12-4-1) out-classed Octagon debuting Dan Evensen (10-3) in a first-round TKO at 4:55, then presumptuously asked the UFC for a title shot.

Welterweight Chris Wilson (14-4) won his UFC second chance over Steve Bruno (11-4) by unanimous decision.

“I’d like to not start waiting five and six months. I need to fight more often,” Wilson revealed after his UD. “So, if Uncle Dana [White] is willing to put me in sooner… He’s the boss.”

Lightweight Robert Emerson (8-6) knocked out TUF 5 runner-up “Pitbull” Manvel Gamburyan (8-3) in twelve seconds with a right overhand, followed by a left to Gamburyan’s temple as he fell to his back.

“I saw him throwin’, so I threw. You know, luckily mine landed first,” described Emerson after his impressive second UFC win. “Things are lookin’ up for me.”

Middleweight Abu Dhabi champion grappler Demian Maia (8-0) tapped a game, but out-classed “Athlete” Jason MacDonald (20-10) in a rear naked choke at 2:44 of round three in a dramatic back-and-forth mat battle.

“I just go and fight,” Maia said matter-of-factly after the stoppage.

TUF 6 middleweight “Berserk” Ben Saunders(6-0-2) remained undefeated with an armbar submission of Ryan Thomas (9-2) at 2:28 of round two.

“People go for the takedown, get a leg. I swung around to almost like a half-back type position. Did my homework, figured out exactly what I can do from there and [the armbar] was one of them, man,” described Saunders after the fight.

Welterweight “Barn Cat” Tamdan McCrory (9-1) won a unanimous decision over TUF 2 finalist Luke Cummo (6-6).

“I thought I broke his arm [in an armbar],” McCrory said after the fight. “I felt a little ring rust, but, I mean, I felt pretty good for nine months off. I’m ready to get drunk, man.”

Light heavyweight Jon Jones (6-0) won a unanimous decision over Andre Gusmao (5-1) in his Octagon debut.

“The win feels great,” Jones said. “I thought about this many nights, dreamin’ about it.”

MacDonald is excited about fighting Maia, saying, “I’ve got a lot of respect for what he’s done in the jiu-jitsu world.  But, I think we’ve seen time and time again that good mixed martial artists have been able to defeat high-level jiu-jitsu guys.”

MacDonald added, “[Maia] is still fairly new to the MMA side of things so I’m hoping to go out there and put on a strong mixed martial arts fight.”

Maia, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion, has made a strong showing so far in MMA with his perfect professional record.

Both fighters won their last fights, both at UFC 83 in Montreal. MacDonald’s second-round TKO of Joe Doerksen (39-12) was the “Knockout of the Night”, while Maia won “Submission of the Night” with his triangle-choke victory over “Short Fuse” Ed Herman (14-6).

This match is one of several recently confirmed on the card: Hermes Franca (18-6) versus “The Answer” Frank Edgar (8-1); Cheick Kongo (11-4-1) versus Dan Evensen (10-2); Chris Wilson (13-4) versus Steve Bruno (11-3); and “Berserk” Ben Saunders (5-0-2) versus Jared Rollins (6-4).

Former UFC Middleweight Champion and Fighters.com’s second-ranked 185-pounder “Ace” Rich Franklin (23-3) also found the land of maple leaf friendly in a second-round TKO of “The Serial Killer” Travis Lutter (9-5).

TUF Champions “The Count” Michael Bisping (15-1) and Mac Danzig (18-4-1) debuted in new weight classes with stoppages.

Les habitants “The Athlete” Jason MacDonald (20-9), “Dooms” Jason Day (17-5), and Jonathan Goulet (22-9) also had success for the home team, while “The Rock” Nathan Quarry (10-2), Demian Maia (7-0), “No Love” Rich Clementi (31-12-1), and Cain Velasquez (3-0) scored wins as visitors to the true north, strong and free.

Though seven of the 11 duels on 83′s lineup featured St. Pierre’s fellow countrymen, this French-Canadian bon soirwas entirely the Quebecois phenom’s. He entered the Octagon blazing a crimson gi with the strength of 22,000 at the Centre Bell.

Serra had played a clever villain during the event’s promotional tour, but had no quips for “Rush” as St. Pierre packed him into the mat upon stuffing Serra’s initial shot.

St. Pierre mauled “The Terror” with short, sharp elbows as Serra pedaled through guards, all passed by St. Pierre. Serra finally crawled up the cage to his feet.

In the center of the cage, St. Pierre blasted Serra with a Superman punch, setting up a double-leg takedown near the end of round one.

Serra, a mouse puffing beneath his right eye, emptied his tank about 90 seconds into round two as “Rush” tagged “The Terror” with five snapping jabs before planting him back onto the mat with a double-leg takedown.

St. Pierre’s G’n'P onslaught poured on, driving Serra into turtle guard. A series of unanswered rib-rattling knees persuaded referee Steve Mazzagatti to end the fight at 4:45.

“I tired him out,” explained the best 170-pound fighter in the world.

Serra countered, “I ended up coming up short, no pun intended.”

Welterweights Goulet and Kuniyoshi Hironaka (11-5) both pocketed 75 grand for battling the “Fight of the Night” in the card’s opening bout.

Goulet got the worst of it in the punch-up’s first round. Attempting to press his striking advantage, Goulet got tagged with a short Hironaka left hook. The Japanese fighter fell the Canadian and followed with a mix of fists and elbows to close the round.

“He tried to finish me,” Goulet admitted after the fight, “but he got too excited. I was careful because of my experience.”

The two fighters traded evenly to open the second before Hironaka was stunned with a punch that backed him to the cage. Goulet stalked with a flurry that dropped his opponent for a TKO at 2:07.

In the co-main event, Franklin also rebounded from a lost first round in which Lutter took the former champ to the mat and worked his jiu-jitsu juju. Franklin was nearly tapped in an armbar before he countered in a nifty maneuver that rolled him into Lutter’s full guard.

Lutter had worn himself weary by the second round and got caught with head kick as he shot for single-leg takedown. Franklin hammered “The Serial Killer” and motioned for the referee to stand him up. “Ace” picked Lutter apart on their feet with a combination of slick boxing and knees until the referree stopped the fight at 3:01

Danzig predicted to Fighters.com that Mark Bocek (5-2) is susceptible to a knee and the debuting 155-pounder delivered three big knees to set Bocek up for a rear naked choke submission at 3:48 of the third round.

“I paced myself, and I needed that; because, if I didn’t pace myself I wouldn’t have been able to do what I did in the last round,” Danzig said.

His fellow TUF Champion Bisping debuted at 185-pounds with a dominant TKO “W” over “Chainsaw” Charles McCarthy (10-5), who was unable to continue due to an arm injury after round one.

“Charles couldn’t get up,” “The Count” expalined after the fight.

Middleweight Quarry chased down a timid Kalib Starnes (8-3-1), who probably ran himself out of the UFC, for a unanimous decision.

Middleweight MacDonald added $75,000 to his bank balance with a “(T)KO of the Night” versus Joe Doerksen (39-12) at 54 seconds of the second round.

Middleweight Maia also earned 75 grand for “Submission of the Night”, a triangle choke of “Short Fuse” Ed Herman (14-5) at 2:27 of round two.

Middleweight Day made a successful UFC debut with a 3:58 TKO of “The Talent” Alan Belcher (12-5).

Lightweight Clementi ruined Canadian “Hands of Stone” Sam Stout‘s (13-4-1) homecoming with a split decision victory.

Finally, touted heavyweight Velasquez only spent 2:10 in his Octagon debut before TKOing Brad Morris (9-3).