Preliminary fights:
Dustin Hazelett defeated Diego Saraiva via unanimous decision.
Ryoto “Lyoto” Machida defeated Sam Hoger via unanimous decision.
Frank Edgar defeated Tyson Griffin via unanimous decision. This fight was televised after the main event and it was full of action. You should probably find it.
Terry Martin defeated Jorge Riveria via KO (punches) 14 seconds into Round 1. This fight was televised after Edgar/Griffin.
Televised bouts:
Patrick Cote defeated Scott Smith via unanimous decision. The crowd was booing during the last round and after the decision, but it wasn’t really a particularly bad fight. Cote admitted to being afraid to rush in and finish Smith after that right hand he landed on Pete Sell in their November fight. Cote finished with something to the effect of, “I’m glad you’re booing me. I will be back and you can be booing me some more!”
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson defeated Martin Eastman by KO (punches) at 3:49 of Round 2. The fight was pretty slow until the end when Rampage finished Eastman with a barrage of uppercuts and punches. Rampage said he was more nervous for this fight than any other in his career. Rampage is the last person to have beaten Chuck Liddell. When Rogan asked him when he’d challenge Liddell again, he said he was looking for sparring partners, etc.
Roger Huerta defeated John Halverson via TKO (strikes) 19 seconds into Round 1. Huerta scrambles to take Halverson down, throws an “illegal” knee (according to Rogan) to Halverson’s “head” before mounting his back and pounding the sides of his head until the ref stops it. Huerta says he hit him in the shoulder, and Rogan confirms that the replay looks that way. It’s very difficult to see, but it looks fair.
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic defeated Eddie Sanchez by TKO at 4:33 into Round 1.
Mike Goldberg: Good time to come back as a heavyweight, Randy.
Randy: Heh heh. I think it is.
Cro Cop came out to the official Pride theme. Some people are confused about this, but I recall an interview a few days ago where he said he loved the theme and would miss the song because the drums got him pumped. Apparently he brought it with him and remained adequately pumped.
Mirko tried to hit his left high kick about four or five times throughout the first round, but never really caught Sanchez with it. He won by ground & pound.
Joe Rogan: And the referee mercilessly stops the fight. … mercifully.
Anderson Silva defeated Travis Lutter via submission (strikes) 2:11 into Round 2. My husband and I tried to make bets on which minute Lutter would lose in, but after the first round passed, it was moot.
Lutter took Silva down repeatedly to virtually no avail. At the end of the first round, Silva started standing up and refusing to grapple.
The “strikes” Silva subbed Lutter with were elbows to the head while Lutter was in a triangle. Couture questioned the legality of the elbows but nobody could come to a conclusion. Either way, it’ll be a good Internet debate.
