The replay, which featured Randy Couture losing the UFC heavyweight title to Brock Lesnar during their Nov. 15 encounter, was scheduled as counter-programming to “Day of Reckoning,” the second ever pay-per-view event promoted by Affliction and M-1.

To put the rating in perspective, the replay for UFC 91 was the number one rated program with males between the ages of 18-34 on broadcast or cable during its 9:30-11:30 p.m. ET timeslot.

According to Spike, the replay also drew a 1.7 household rating and a 1.8 among men between the ages of 18-49 (991,000), a 1.8 among males 18-34 (508,000) and had an average audience of 2.3 million viewers.

Affliction’s second-ever PPV, entitled “Day of Reckoning,” is scheduled for Saturday, January 24. With the UFC scheduled to promote pay-per-view events on January 17 and 31, it will be virtually impossible to schedule a live event to go head-to-head with Affliction again.

However, the UFC will still be airing programming opposite “Day of Reckoning” and to virtually no one’s surprise, the competition will come in the form of a replay of UFC 91.

UFC 91 originally took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Nov. 15 in Las Vegas and featured Brock Lesnar winning the UFC heavyweight title from Randy Couture in a PPV event that some in the cable industry have estimated was viewed by over 800,000 households.

While the UFC won’t be airing live programming opposite Affliction, it will still be putting forth a formidable challenge by featuring an event that UFC President Dana White referred to as “the biggest fight in UFC history.”

The replay of UFC 91 joins HBO’s presentation of a welterweight boxing attraction between Antonio Margarito and Shane Mosley as events that will be competing with “Day of Reckoning” for the coveted male 18-34 demographic on Jan. 24. Complicating matters further is the fact that Margarito vs. Mosley will be taking place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, which is in the same market as “Day of Reckoning,” as the event will be emanating from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

In addition to competing for local media attention with the event, Affliction finds itself in a position where it will be competing with partner Golden Boy Promotions as it tries to sell tickets. Several sources have indicated that ticket sales for “Day of Reckoning” are moving at a slower pace than Affliction’s first event at the Honda Center.

The following fighters passed their tests for street narcotics and performance enhancing drugs:

• Randy Couture
• Brock Lesnar
• Kenny Florian
• Dustin Hazelett
• Gabriel Gonzaga
• Demian Maia
• Jeremy Stephens
• Aaron Riley
• Mark Bocek
• Matt Brown

It is mandatory for all fighters involved in title fights or main events to be screen for drugs by NSAC. For UFC 91, the commission also mandated that all winners at the event submit to post-fight screenings. Over the last year, NSAC has instituted pre-fight drug screening several weeks in advance of a major event and all fighters that were tested prior to UFC 91 passed their screenings as well.

Having said that, I believe that UFC 91 has the potential to be one of those events where we look back at it one day and say, “That’s when the UFC changed forever.”

UFC 91 has the potential to suck in a slew of fans that are somewhat similar to myself. While I certainly believe that I have graduated from “basic casual fan status” to “getting better, but still working on it” status, there is no doubt that tonight will be the first time a lot of folks have tuned in for a UFC pay per view, mainly because of the Lesnar curiosity factor.

If Brock Lesnar becomes UFC heavyweight champion tonight, those first-timers could potentially get sucked in for good. And like it or not, THAT is the reason why this main event was made. The potential to bring in a new generation of fans was simply too much for White and Zuffa to resist.

It’s 10 p.m. in wonderful NYC, so let’s begin our in-depth look into UFC 91…

10:00 – 10:14: THE SET UP – Coming right out of the open, our announcers Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan immediately set up the main event, with Goldberg calling Lesnar “superhuman.” Since Couture played the villainous Sargon in “The Scorpion King 2,” handling Lesnar should not be a problem. My pick: Couture by Scorpion Curse in round one.

After the set up of the texting poll, we see a quick Joe Stevenson/Kenny Florian preview, followed by Goldberg saying, “It is indeed a magical night…Randy Couture-Brock Lesnar…and a couple of other good heavyweights on the card as well.” We go to a Gabriel Gonzaga-Josh Hendricks preview, followed by the Rules of the Octagon, leading me to believe that this will be the first fight of the evening. Instead, we see a Nate Quarry-Demian Maia preview package. I’m wondering why they didn’t just go to Gonzaga-Hendricks fight off the smooth segue, but I need to get over it, as Maia and Quarry make their entrances to the octagon and are introduced by Bruce Buffer.

10:14 – 10:17: NATE QUARRY vs. DEMIAN MAIA - Rogan immediately notices Quarry is in trouble by stating, “This is terrible for Nate Quarry.” Rogan is spot on as Maia dominates Quarry, submitting him via rear-naked choke in just 2:13. Great execution by Maia, great explanation of it by Rogan.

10:17 – 10:31: POST FIGHT & GONZAGA vs. HENDRICKS SET UP - After Maia’s post-fight interview and some advertising spots, we get some more main event hype. Couture is shown arriving at the MGM Grand Arena – with his gorgeous wife Kim – at 5:21 local time, while Lesnar arrives almost an hour and a half later. Couture is greeted warmly upon his entrance, while Lesnar’s arrival sends grown men jumping into each other’s arms in fear.

A UFC 92 promo follows – what a card, by the way – and now we see Couture in his locker room grappling with his wife, and Lesnar in his bashing his head through the locker room wall. Ok, not really.

A Gonzaga-Hendricks preview package rolls, followed by their walks to the Octagon and introductions. It must be noted that at 10:29 Buffer did his “Introducing first”/Michael Jackson Thriller move. I don’t care how new school I am or how old school you are….it’s absurd.

10:31 – 10:32: GABRIEL GONZAGA vs. JOSH HENDRICKS - Gonzaga immediately becomes a P.C.F.T.C. favorite due to this Condom Depot sponsorship. A Gonzaga right hand in just 1:01 ruins Hendricks’ UFC debut and Gonzaga is one step closer to becoming the first fighter to have a condom named after him.

Not a lot of fighting so far, but what we have seen has been explosive.

BROADCAST TIME SO FAR: 32 minutes. ACTUAL FIGHT TIME: 3 minutes, 14 seconds.

10:32 – 10:39: POST-FIGHT & BROWN vs. THOMAS SET UP - Rogan presses Gonzaga for a prediction on the main event, to which Gonzaga replies, “I choose the Randy.” Who doesn’t?

BROADCAST TIME SO FAR: 39 minutes. ACTUAL FIGHT TIME: 3 minutes, 14 seconds.

10:39 – 10:46: MATT BROWN vs. RYAN THOMAS - Approximately 93% of the pay per view you have paid to see has been anything but fighting so far. Not entirely the UFC/Zuffa’s fault, but facts are facts. A wise decision is made to go right to tape of this preliminary fight, sans the walks to the Octagon and pre-fight intros. Our first fight of the broadcast that goes beyond round one results in Matt Brown winning via arm bar submission in round two.

BROADCAST TIME SO FAR: 46 minutes. ACTUAL FIGHT TIME: 9 minutes, 17 seconds.

10:46 – 10:57: POST-FIGHT & HAZELETT vs. MCCRORY SET UP - After hearing from Brown, we see two of the Tapout freaks and a promo for The Ultimate Fighter before getting to the Dustin Hazelett-Tamdan McCrory fight preview. For pacing purposes, is there any reason why the fighters couldn’t be in the octagon already coming out of the package? Once McCrory began his walk, we had to wait an additional five minutes before the action began. On a side note, McCrory is probably that guy you DON’T want to scream “Nerd!” at.

10:57 – 11:01: DUSTIN HAZELETT vs. TAMDAN MCCRORY - With 2:23 left in round one, Goldberg says three of four wins for Hazelett have come by submission. About 1:39 later, Hazelett wins via arm bar. Good stuff.

BROADCAST TIME SO FAR: 1 hour, 1 minute. ACTUAL FIGHT TIME: (4 fights, 5 rounds) 13 minutes, 16 seconds.

11:01 – 11:05: POST-FIGHT & SET UP STEPHENS vs. DOS ANJOS - We’ve seen GSP and B.J. Penn in the house so far tonight. Now, we’re greeted by Anderson Silva, possibly the only mixed martial artist in history who can pull off wearing a bright pink sweater. Afterwards, another UFC 92 plug follows before we go right to the action of our second prelim fight of the night. They can’t control the results inside of the octagon, but they do control how to fill time in situations like this. Another good call by the UFC/Zuffa.

11:05 – 11:18: JEREMY STEPHENS vs. RAFAEL DOS ANJOS - After two solid rounds, we’re treated to the “Holy Sh*T Moment of the Night,” sponsored by Depends. Jeremy Stephens just wound up and threw an uppercut that came from the 40th level of hell. Stephens by third round K.T.F.O. Wow.

BROADCAST TIME SO FAR: 1 hour, 18 minutes. ACTUAL FIGHT TIME: (5 fights, 8 rounds) 23 minutes, 55 seconds. So far, I am really enjoying this card. And we still have two great fights ahead of us.

11:18 – 11:33: POST-FIGHT & SET UP FLORIAN vs. STEVENSON - The sound in real time…followed by the replays…hearing the crowd react to the replays…unbelievable. Hey now, Wanderlei Silva in the house. I’m scared. We check in with Couture in his locker room. Then we check in with Lesnar. I’m scared. Then we check in with Joe Rogan and 50 Cent. What? Fitty’s promoting his latest album. I’m still scared. So take Joe Rogan’s advice: “Buy it, don’t download it, bitches!”

It’s now time for the preview package and octagon walks for the co-main event of the evening. The newest member of G-Unit, Joe “Daddy” Stevenson, comes out to Fitty’s classic joint, “Wanksta.”

11:33 – 11:37: KENNY FLORIAN vs. JOE STEVENSON – A nice pace to begin the fight, but more important is the fact that in the middle of the round, we get a TEXT MESSAGING POLL ALERT (#3 of the night)! Couture’s lead is down by 1%, 55-45. About a minute later, Florian submits Daddy via RNC.

11:37 – 11:42: KENNY FLORIAN vs. JOE STEVENSON POST-FIGHT - Seeing Florian’s reaction to the win, which nets him a lightweight title shot against B.J. Penn, was awesome, but not as awesome as him calling Penn out and giving Metallica a title for their next album, “Kill The Master.”

Look who’s also in the house: there’s only one Ricky Hatton! Hatton has a set of twins sitting behind him too. Unfortunately, they’re only 15… and boys. After a brief tease for the main event, we get an extended look at the movie, Punisher: War Zone, which warrants not one comment, before getting to the evening’s main event.

BROADCAST TIME SO FAR: 1 hour, 42 minutes. ACTUAL FIGHT TIME: (6 fights, 9 rounds) 27 minutes, 58 seconds.

11:42 – 11:57: THE MAIN EVENT SET UP - Since this is being billed as the biggest fight in the history of the UFC, I am extremely interested to see what the UFC/Zuffa does right now. For those readers who’ve read the first two editions of P.C.F.T.C., you know I’m big on selling storylines. Like I stated above, there are newbies watching this PPV because of Lesnar. Yes, they’re already watching, which is goal #1, but sustaining their interest in the UFC should be goal #2. Great stories followed by a potentially great, history-making fight can only help matters.

Rather than give us the typical “Why I’m going to win this fight” preview package, give us a package that includes that, but also tells us about the road traveled by Couture and Lesnar in getting to this point. Like Couture, Lesnar is getting a title shot in just his fourth professional fight. Not to mention, we have the old school/new school and potential changing of the guard themes present as well. HBO does a wonderful job with pre-fight packages before their boxing main events. It would be nice to see the UFC/Zuffa go that route.

Goldberg and Rogan begin their pre-fight set up, and we learn via-full page graphic that Couture’s opponents have a combined record of 181-36 and that 14 of his 18 UFC fights have been for a title. If you’re watching and knew little about Couture before tonight, now you know that he’s been in plenty of big fights before…unlike his opponent.

Goldberg finally tosses to the pre-fight package. We hear the fighters explain what they need to do to beat one another. Couture talks about seeing Lesnar now and how it reminds him of himself 10 years ago. Couture says Lesnar is one-dimensional and all straight-ahead. Interesting. Lesnar counters with the predictable “he’s too damn old to be here” comment before the package ends with more “how I will win” comments from each fighter. Did I expect anything different? No. Personally, I had heard all of these sound bites already before tonight. I really don’t think it’s too much to ask for a pre-main event package that is exclusive to those who are paying up to $50 to watch this on PPV.

It’s now 11:47, Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” is playing, and here comes the challenger, Brock Lesnar. Goldberg gives a great fact: Lesnar is the 19th fighter in UFC history to fight for a title with less than 10 fights. I’ve made this point before: if you’re watching this in a loud environment – like a party or a sports bar, you won’t hear it. Putting up a “Brock Lesnar: 19th UFC fighter to get title shot with less than 10 fights” lower-third graphic would visually enhance this great fact. FYI – Goldberg also adds that only three of those other 18 men have been victorious: Mark Coleman, Frank Mir and yes, Randy Couture. Great facts here. Three minutes later, Couture walks to the octagon and Buffer introduces both fighters as if he’s about to break out into “Give My Regards To Broadway.”

11:57 – 12:06: THE MAIN EVENT: RANDY COUTURE vs. BROCK LESNAR - The crowd is clearly for Couture, as the audio picks up, “Randy! Randy! Randy!” chants. As Brock goes in for a takedown in round one, Goldberg smoothly informs us that he’s 7 for 8 on takedown attempts in his career. With 2:10 left in the round, the use of the overhead camera really shows the viewer just how huge Lesnar is when smothering Couture in half-guard. Brock’s back should have a tattoo of its own zip code. Round one concludes at 12:02 a.m.

Round two begins, but not before 50 Cent wags his finger in disapproval. I’m scared. With 3:40 left in the round, Lesnar is cut under his right eye. With just over two minutes left in the round, Lesnar rocks Couture! Couture down, pounded and stopped by Lesnar! We have a new heavyweight champion. Wow.

BROADCAST TIME SO FAR: 2 hours, 6 minutes. ACTUAL FIGHT TIME: (7 fights, 11 rounds) 36 minutes, 5 seconds.

POST-FIGHT NOTE: I watched this fight again this morning, and found it curious that at about 11:50 p.m., after Lesnar had entered the octagon, he pointed to his right eye and asked for more (I’m assuming) Vaseline to be placed underneath it. This is the same eye that was later cut in round two by Couture. It could be just a coincidence, but I am curious if Lesnar had injured that eye in training and had concerns about it entering the fight?

12:06 – 12:13: RANDY COUTURE vs. BROCK LESNAR POST-FIGHT - This is not a religious statement. I want to make that 150% clear. But in one of the greatest post-interview lines I have personally ever heard, Lesnar, in his post-fight interview with Rogan, looked up to the sky above as if he was speaking to God and said, “God Bless You.”

Brock Lesnar, the new UFC heavyweight champion, is indeed superhuman. The man just blessed God. Wow!

FAST-FORWARD: Due to the number of fights shown, we’re going to hop ahead a bit. The broadcast could have ended after the main event and I know I would have felt as if I got my money’s worth. However, the UFC/Zuffa gave us two more preliminary fights on tape: Jorge Gurgel – Aaron Riley and Mark Bocek – Alvin Robinson. That’s every fight on the card, folks.

I could try to research whether this has happened before with a UFC PPV – and if it has, write as if I knew that already. But as of this very moment, I don’t want to know. All that matters is that I saw a lot of good fights, making it hard to complain about not getting your money’s worth tonight.

THE WRAP: Nine fights and two hours and 56 minutes later, UFC 91 is a wrap. Overall, I believe that the broadcast was a solid A effort. Goldberg and Rogan were excellent. We saw slickly executed submissions, an uppercut for the ages and history made. Will we look back at this event as the one that changed the UFC forever as far as mainstream media coverage is concerned?

I think so. As I write this, I am watching live, post-fight coverage (at 2:00 a.m. EST) of UFC 91 on ESPN’s internet-only MMA Live show. According to the webcast, it’s the first time ESPN has actually built a set on-site to cover an MMA event. Sure, it’s not the same as getting coverage on SportsCenter, but it’s a significant achievement that was once reserved for just major boxing matches. It’s only a matter of time before this coverage is integrated onto SportsCenter.

Which brings us back to Lesnar and the future of the UFC. If CBS backed an over-hyped, Kimbo Slice-led promotion on its network, how soon will we see a network jump into bed with the UFC now that Lesnar is the champion? Lesnar was a major draw during his WWE days. Can you imagine a network promoting Brock Lesnar, especially as heavyweight champion? I sure as hell can. Yes, I understand he’s got a huge task ahead of him regardless of who he fights next, but that’s a ways down the road, giving the UFC ample time to get a deal done.

In my first two editions of this column, I was very vocal about wanting more graphics incorporated into UFC/Zuffa’s telecasts. Most MMA purists who read my ideas hated them because they deemed them as unnecessary. I’m a realist. I realize that ideas like those would almost never be incorporated into a UFC telecast. But my point was and continues to be this: the sport is changing as we know it; so those who’ve followed it since it’s glory days need to embrace change along with it. You may not like my specific ideas, but trust me, change is a happenin’.

I’ll leave you with an alternate idea then. ESPN offers their amazing Gamecast for almost all major sports. As many of us fantasy geeks know, it’s an amazing way to follow a sports event online, but in pure graphic form. It includes up to the second stats, charts, play-by-play action and literally makes you feel as if you’re watching the game. I think it’s time for the UFC and its website – or even through a partnership with ESPN – to begin doing this. A UFC Gamecast could offer a blow-by-blow description that is supported by statistics, charts, polls and everything else you find with the other sports. Imagine following it on your laptop while watching a card. The play by play describes the move as you’re watching it on your TV. It’s another way to educate the newbies too.

Thanks for reading – and I look forward to your feedback.

FINAL UFC 91 PPV STATS: BROADCAST TIME: 2 hours, 56 minutes. ACTUAL FIGHT TIME: (9 fights, 17 rounds) 64 minutes, 21 seconds.

Lesnar, the UFC’s new heavyweight champion, received a documented total of $450,000. The breakdown of the former NCAA heavyweight champion’s NSAC reported salary is $250,000 as his guaranteed purse to “show” with an additional $200,000 paid out in the form of a win bonus.

Couture’s guarantee was also $250,000. However, if he had won, he would have received an additional $250,000 win bonus.

Proving that heavyweights are at a premium, former UFC heavyweight title challenger Gabriel Gonzaga received the third highest total on the card, clocking in with $110,000. The native Brazilian received a guarantee of $55,000 and an additional win bonus of $55,000 for his TKO victory over Josh Hendricks.

Hendricks, making his UFC debut, earned $8,000, which is considerably higher than the standard entry-level rate in the UFC of $3,000.

Lightweight Kenny Florian was the fourth highest earner on the card, receiving a total of $80,000 for his first round submission victory over Joe Stevenson. The number one contender for the UFC lightweight title was paid a guarantee of $40,000 and received an additional $40,000 as a win bonus. Stevenson was paid a total of $35,000 and could have doubled his pay with a victory.

Demian Maia preserved his undefeated record against Nate Quarry and earned $40,000 in the process ($20,000 paid as a guarantee and $20,000 paid as a win bonus). Quarry only received his guarantee of $25,000 and would have earned an additional $25,000 had he won.

UFC welterweight Dustin Hazelett is moving up in the world. In addition to receiving $60,000 for the “Submission of the Night,” Hazelett received a $14,000 guarantee as well as a $14,000 win bonus. His total reported take for the event is $88,000. Hazelett’s opponent, Tamdan McCrory, earned his guarantee of $10,000 and would have double his pay with a victory.

Aaron Riley, returning to the UFC for his third tour of duty not only received $60,000 for being a part of the “Fight of the Night,” but also was paid a total of $8,000 with $4,000 coming in the form of a guarantee and another $4,000 coming in the form of a win bonus. Jorge Gurgel, who received $60,000 as the other half of the “Fight of the Night,” was paid $10,000, per his guarantee. He would have received an additional $10,000 had he won.

Jeremy Stephens, the UFC 91 winner of the “Knockout of the Night,” earned a total of $60,000 for his dramatic third round TKO over the debuting Rafael dos Anjos. Stephens was paid a total of $16,000 with $8,000 paid in the form of a guaranteed purse to show and the other $8,000 being paid as a win bonus. Dos Anjos earned $4,000.

In the battle of the black belts, Mark Bocek received a total $18,000 for his win over Alvin Robinson. Bocek received $9,000 as a guarantee and an additional $9,000 as a win bonus. Robinson was compensated $7,000 for the losing effort and would have earned an additional $7,000 had he won.

In the night’s opener, Matt Brown received $16,000 as a late replacement against former Division I wrestler Ryan Thomas. Brown was guaranteed $8,000 to show and received an additional $8,000 for the win. Thomas was the lowest compensated fighter on the show, receiving only a documented $3,000.

As a disclaimer, it should be noted that these figures should not be considered as final salary figures for the fighters listed. Fighters are subject to additional income through sponsors, “Fight Night” bonuses, and discretionary bonuses awarded by the UFC that are not made public. The reported figures also do not include any bonus a fighter is contractually obligated to receive that is tied to total pay-per-view sales.

To make a long story short, the UFC isn’t close to a deal.

“(We are) not very close now with (the) market like this,” White responded when asked by a reporter for an update. “The economy is bad. I don’t know if anybody else in this room feels it as bad as some of the other people in this country feel it, but the economy is really bad right now. There’s no money out there. Sponsors aren’t spending as much money as they used to. Some sponsors are going out of business. It’s really scary times right now.”

Despite the state of the economy, White doesn’t believe the lack of a network television deal is going to hurt the promotion’s growth. In fact, he even believes that a network deal could hurt.

“Network deals are what’s helping put these other companies out of business,” White said, making a veiled reference to both the IFL and EliteXC. “Just because you get a network deal doesn’t mean it’s a good deal. When we get a good network deal, we’ll be on network television.”

With strong ratings on Spike TV and a stranglehold on the coveted male 18-34 demopgraphic, many are left wondering why the UFC can’t strike a deal that it’s comfortable with.

“The networks are so strong, they pretty much tell you the deal that they’re going to give you whether you like it or not,” White said. “We don’t need it. We built this company without the help of anybody. It was us and the fighters. That’s it. There was no sponsors. Nobody was running around trying to give us money. We did it on our own.”

For now, White is satisfied with the progress that the UFC has made and is secure in moving forward with the company’s current partners.

“We don’t need help from anybody at the end of the day,” said White. “If somebody wants to do the right deal with us, we’ll do it with them. Spike did. So we’re on Spike TV. Believe me, I’m happy as hell to be on Spike TV. We can stay there forever. I (couldn’t) care less.”

“In a stunning upset, Brock Lesnar became the first man to capture both the WWE Championship and the UFC Heavyweight Championship when he defeated UFC fan favorite Randy ‘The Natural’ Couture on Saturday night in Sin City,” the release begins, incorrectly referring to Lesnar’s victory as an “upset,” as he was favored to win by all of the major sportsbooks in Las Vegas.

The self-promotional release continued, even trying to portray this past Saturday’s successful UFC 91 event in a negative light.

“Critics have noted that many of the fights on the UFC pay-per-view ended in the first round, leaving UFC producers scrambling to fill the three-hour event with content,” the WWE.com release states. “The dearth of hearty competition left many viewers to watch less prestigious under-card fights and only served to bolster claims that UFC pay-per-view events can often be a ‘crap shoot’ in regards to filling the full three hours.”

The release ended with the WWE trying to position itself as playing a role in Lesnar’s win, in spite of the fact that he resigned from his multi-million dollar contract with the promotion over four years ago under a great deal of acrimony.

“For his part, Lesnar took the encouragment of the WWE Universe and the hard lessons forged during his fiery time at WWE and showed UFC and the world why he is not only a man of mettle but also a former three-time WWE Champion,” concluded the release.

As a promotion, the UFC was clicking on all cylinders. We received the following: a much-anticipated main event from two larger-than-life stars that delivered; conclusive finishes to all fights shown without the slightest hint of controversy; a well-paced show that allowed for eight fights to make the broadcast; and one of the best performances from the commentary team of Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan in recent memory.

If the mainstream hype of UFC 91 brought first-time viewers to the table last night, then the event had to have left them with a positive impression of mixed martial arts. Having a main event that delivered was a huge step to ensuring that everyone watching in attendance or at home on pay-per-view walked away happy.

The fact that the outcome of Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar was controversy free was a a major relief. The timing in which referee Mario Yamasaki stopped the fight was somewhat anti-climatic considering the punches at the end didn’t appear anywhere near as vicious as the ones Lesnar delivered when the two first hit the ground. However, it wasn’t an early stoppage and if anything, I felt Yamasaki may have allowed the fight to go on a little long. Any doubt anyone might have had about the stoppage was erased after Couture was shown still laying on the ground following the stoppage.

It was just nice to know that the sport was on top of its game for a fight card that was widely viewed by a great deal of people. I’m not exactly sure how many watched last night, but I am convinced that it was a lot of people.

The media attention this past week that led up to the event was nothing short of outstanding. I read a lot of complaints in recent weeks in regards to the lack of promotional push that UFC 91 was receiving. While those complaints might have been valid a few weeks ago, I don’t see how anyone can complain about the momentum we saw build this past week. While far from scientific, I believe that the pre-fight mainstream attention that UFC 91 garnered easily surprassed the amount UFC 71 received.

When the final buyrate number comes in for UFC 91 I am sure there will be those that will ask whether it could have been even higher had the major promotional push lasted two-to-three weeks instead of just one but I’m not sure. I’ve talked to several promoters in recent months about why they wait until the week of an event to make their big pitch and the answer I kept hearing was that they felt to do the big push before would be a waste.

The general consensus amongst the promoters I’ve spoken to is that most viewers of MMA are of the casual ilk and they aren’t going to decide weeks in advance whether they are going to watch an event. When it comes to watching fights, people usually wait to make their final plans. I’m not saying I agree with that logic, rather I am simply trying to explain why we’re seeing a growing trend of late promotion for events.

But the media push was so strong in this case that there was some concern about whether the fight could live up to its billing. While Couture vs. Lesnar certainly wasn’t a fight of the year candidate, it most definitely delivered. It wasn’t a first round cake walk; the fight went past the first round and there were back and forth exchanges. It felt like as big of a deal as we all thought it would be.

Production wise, the show was solid. I’m not always impressed with what the UFC does production-wise because I’ve seen other MMA productions from a behind-the-scenes perspective and based on the UFC’s end product, I just don’t believe they put in the same effort. There are times that I feel that the UFC knows they have you hooked so they are only going to go far in terms of what they give you production-wise.

However, I found no fault with last night’s show and the UFC has never had a broadcast that took away from the fights. My issue is that while I am sure the UFC production team certainly cares about the quality of its work, I’d like to see them go the extra mile and most importantly, for the broadcast to evolve. If you watch a DVD from four years ago, it isn’t going to look much different from what you see today. Some people like consistency but I believe that no one should ever be satisfied with their work.

Adding to the quality of last night’s production was the solid effort exhibited by both Goldberg and Rogan. I’ve been critical at times of Goldberg but it’s important to note that I think he’s a good broadcaster and he’s does a good job. But that’s part of the problem I have with him — he’s nothing more than good.

I feel like the UFC is the top promotion in the world and it should have the top play-by-play announcer in the world. Goldberg is good at his craft, but he’s not the best. I do believe that Goldberg was just better than good last night. There are times when I feel he’s a step behind the action or says something ill-advised when he tries to force things, but Goldberg’s timing was on last night and he was a little sharper than usual in his observations.

The thing that you get with Rogan is consistency. There really isn’t any sort of dropoff or increase in his performance from show-to-show. I also appreciate the insight he brings to the table with his vast grappling experience and can appreciate that he doesn’t try to promote that experience on the telecast.

Unless you’re a hardcore fan, you aren’t really aware that Rogan is an accomplished martial artist. To a casual fan, he comes across like just a regular broadcast who knows his stuff. It’s to a point now with Rogan that while I am watching a UFC telecast that I completely forget that he’s a comedian or the same guy who was on “News Radio” or hosted “Fear Factor.”

The biggest relief of all was the overall quality of the show. Many pundits expressed a belief that UFC 91 was relying too heavily on the Lesnar vs. Couture matchup. However, there wasn’t a bad fight on the card and we got to see some very exciting finishes to the fights that preceeded the main event.

The pacing of the show was good enough that a total of eight of nine fights on the card were broadcast and getting to see the big uppercut by Jeremy Stephens and the “Fight of the Night” between Jorge Gurgel and Aaron Riley was something that I could appreciate coming from a consumer-perspective.

I’m just one fan, but for what it’s worth, I felt that UFC 91 was one of the best UFC events I’ve ever watched.

Following August’s unanimous decision victory over Roger Huerta at UFC 87, Florian had been promised a second shot at the UFC lightweight title. However, plans were put into flux when it was determined that incumbent champion B.J. Penn’s next fight would take place against UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre at UFC 94 in January.

After this week’s revelation by UFC President Dana White that the winner of last night’s lightweight title between Florian and Stevenson would receive a future shot at the 155 pound title, Florian was essentially put in a position where he had to defend his title shot.

Instead of trying to wait to cash in on his title shot until after Penn had fought St. Pierre, Florian rolled the dice last night against Stevenson, a recently-christened black belt who is not only one of the best lightweights in the UFC, but also the world.

However, the gamble paid off. Florian not only managed to stay active and earn an additional payday in the process, but his title shot remained in tact following his rear naked choke submission of Stevenson at 4:03 of round 1.

After having been passed over by Penn once before, Florian used his mic time following the victory to give Penn added incentive to fight him.

“This is exactly what I to do out here now I want B.J.’s belt,” Florian told UFC color commentator Joe Rogan and the near-sellout crowd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. “B.J. you’re one of the best fighters out here. I’m here to test myself. I consider you a master. It’s time to kill that master.”

On the surface, that might seem like tough talk coming from the Boston native but before anyone takes the quote as a personal attack against Penn, realize it was likely nothing more than a business decision. Florian is almost always respectful to his competition and last night’s “It’s time to kill that master” quip is nothing more than a pre-meditated soundbyte to help create more demand for a Penn vs. Florian fight.

In July, I spoke with a source close to Penn who indicated that at this stage of the current lightweight champion’s career, he only wants to be involved with major fights. The source went on to add that Penn was pushing for his next fight to be vs. St. Pierre because with Florian looking like the anticipated winner of Huerta at the time, he just didn’t believe that Penn vs. Florian was a fight the public was clamoring to see.

It’s looking clear that Florian wasn’t exactly happy about being passed over and is trying to do everything in his power to give the masses a reason to want to see Penn vs. Florian. Last night’s decision to call out Penn was a smart move from one of the smartest fighters in the game.

Coming into the event, the UFC had set high ticket prices for the heavyweight title clash in hopes of setting the company’s record for total live gate receipts. However, in spite of last night’s strong showing at the box office, the live gate for last night’s event was only the fourth best in company history.

As far as the state of Nevada is concerned, UFC 91 is now the third highest gate ever recorded for an MMA event with UFC 91 now only trailing “UFC 66: Liddel vs. Ortiz II” and “UFC 79: Nemesis.”

Outside economic factors likely played a large role in preventing UFC 91 from establishing a new record, as many fans no doubt found it difficult to make the trip to Las Vegas and the MGM Grand given the current state of the United States economy.

The exchange between Lesnar and Mir was interesting in that Mir is the only man to have beaten the new champ. Lesnar expressed that he felt confident after Randy Couture weighed in at 220 pounds and revealed that he weighed 276 pounds after having re-hydrated following Friday’s weight cut.

Despite lofty projections for PPV sales of the event, officials with the promotion awarded $60,000 bonuses after having awarded $70,000 bonuses during last month’s UFC 90 event in Rosemont, Illinois.

Receiving the 65K bonuses last night on top of their originally scheduled pay were Dustin Hazelett, Jeremy Stephens, Jorge Gurgel, and Aaron Riley.

Hazelett was awarded the “Submission of the Night” bonus following a victory via armbar against fellow welterweight Tamdan McCrory at 3:59 of round 1. The award marked the second time in the 22-year old black belt’s career that he has earned such honors. After the fight, Hazelett informed UFC color commentary Joe Rogan that it is his goal to set the UFC-career record for “Submission of the Night” awards.

The “Knockout of the Night” award went to Jeremy Stephens after the native Iowan thwarted multiple submission attempts by Rafael dos Anjos en route to a third round TKO. In what was proclaimed by color commentator Rogan as one of the biggest uppercuts in UFC history, Stephens deemed his lackluster performance in the first two rounds as irrelevant after loading up and delivering.

Stephens began to swing while outside of dos Anjos’ range but continued to move forward as the punch slipped through dos Anjos’ guard and turned his head at a 90 degree angle. The momentum behind the punch forced a discharge of saliva from the mouth of dos Anjos and made his neck to move as if it was on a swivel.

Both Gurgel and Riley were the recipitients of the “Fight of the Night” bonus following their preliminary card fight that ended with Riley winning via unanimous decision. Despite having taken place as the fourth fight on the card, UFC officials still managed to squeeze the fight into last night’s PPV telecast by airing it immediately after the night’s main event of Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar had concluded.

Even though Gurgel holds a black belt in jiu-jitsu, he decided to engage in a standup battle with Riley, who was making his return to the Octagon after two prior tours of duty with the promotion. Gurgel’s decision not to take the fight to the floor cost him not only the battle but the war, but he’s now $60,000 richer to show for the effort.

And so the Brock Lesnar era begins. From day one I’ve been intrigued by the prospect of Lesnar crossing over into MMA. Several years ago I participated in a seminar conducted by Pat Miletich in Cherry Hill, N.J. During a question and answer session the proceeded the seminar, I asked Miletich to share his thoughts on Lesnar having been aware that the 2000 NCAA champ had spent time at Miletich Fighting Systems while he evaluating whether he was going to pursue MMA.

In hindsight, my phrasing of the question was ill-advised. “Does Brock Lesnar have any chance to be successful in MMA?” The nature of the question prompted the normally congenial Miletich to shoot me a look of bewilderment, as if to say, “Are you f—– kidding me?”

In my defense, Lesnar was still essentially a professional wrestler, as his first round prison-style beating of Min Soo Kim during FEG’s “Dynamite USA!!” show still hadn’t taken place. However, Miletich had seen all he needed to see during Lesnar’s stay at Champions Gym in Davenport, Iowa.

“He’s a 265 pound Matt Hughes,” quipped Miletich.

The statement was made while Hughes was reigning supreme as the consensus number one welterweight in the world. That response from a trainer of champions was all I needed to hear to know that Lesnar was going to be a force to be reckoned with.

Last night’s second round TKO victory over Couture has left those critical of Lesnar’s pro wrestling credentials with no ammunition left to fire with. The undeniable truth is that Lesnar is not only a one-of-a-kind athlete the likes MMA has never seen, but he will retain the undisputed UFC heavyweight title for as long as he wants after unifying it against the winner of December’s Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Frank Mir bout.

Some might say the above prose is a little presumptuous considering that Lesnar has all of four fights to his credit. But if his inexperience wasn’t a factor last night against a tactical wizard such as Couture, when will it ever be? In the end, Lesnar’s lack of experience was not a factor even in spite of Couture’s attempt to try and exploit it. The five-time UFC world champion body-locked Lesnar and pressed him against the cage on multiple occasions. When the fight hit the floor, Couture had Lesnar on his back but was unable to inflict any serious damage and was not successful in controlling the wrestling position for an extended period of time.

If Lesnar made any mistakes last night, I didn’t see them. And apparently Couture didn’t see any either, as Lesnar gave him few openings in which to work with. Lesnar is by no means perfect, but his off-the-charts athleticism is enough to compensate for any shortcomings he might have. To steal a pro wrestling catch-phrase, the man is just a genetic freak.

The most staggering number in my mind was the advantage that Lesnar had when it came to the “measurables.” Despite standing just one in taller than Couture, Lesnar still held a six inch reach advantage at 81” compared to Couture’s measured reach of 75″. Couture may have summed up the reason for the loss best during his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan when he pronounced, “He’s just a big son of a bitch. And it’s as simple as that.” Reasons for losing are rarely ever so quick and easy, but considering Couture’s tremendous technical prowess, it probably is just that simple.

The other issue was the disparity in weight. Lesnar outweighed Couture by at least 55 pounds last night — at least. In the future, Lesnar is unlikely to have such a weight advantage again because no sane man will ever enter the cage against him and give up that much weight. Seeing the sheer girth of Lesnar was a sight to behold (and no, that’s not a phallic reference to the tattoo on his chest); the man is just wide. It seemed like you could stand two normal human beings back-to-back and Lesnar would still be thicker. Seeing Couture standing next to Lesnar during the pre-fight staredown, I thought Randy had cut to middleweight.

From here on out, the opponents will be bigger and stronger but Lesnar will always have the advantage in weight. Much like the NBA in which the center position is now dominated by what we used to call power forwards, the days of super-heavyweights shrinking themselves down to heavyweight in MMA are over.

As we sit here today, there’s only one man in the world capable of beating Lesnar and politics will ensure that a Lesnar vs. Fedor Emelianenko matchup never takes place. In the minds of the mainstream fan, nothing exists outside of the UFC universe. For all intent and purposes, it’s Brock Lesnar’s world now and other heavyweights just walk in it. As long as Lesnar continues to push himself during training and avoids the temptation to dialing his training routine back, nobody currently on the UFC roster will be able to touch him. Not Nogueira, not Mir, not Cain Velasquez, not Shane Carwin, and not Gabriel Gonzaga, etc.

As a self-confessed PRIDE mark, even I have to acknowledge that Lesnar is a bad matchup for Nogueira. Nogueira is an amazing human being and an incredible fighter. But his Dusty Rhodes style of fighting isn’t going to lend itself well to Lesnar’s punishing ways. If Nogueira catches a beating from Lesnar, he will not be able to mount a comeback.

And yes, I realize Mir holds a win over Lesnar. But if those two fought today, how many people would honestly pick Mir to repeat? Sorry, but I don’t see Lesnar falling for a kneebar anytime soon and prior to Mir’s hail mary submission, I couldn’t tell the difference between him and Kim.

Velasquez and Carwin are superstars in the making. They are tremendous wrestlers and super athletes. But as good as Velasquez is, I don’t see him out-wrestling a 2000 NCAA heavyweight champion and as gifted as Carwin is, I don’t see him running a 4.75 in the 40.

After last night, a Gonzaga vs. Lesnar matchup appears inevitable at some point in 2009. The former heavyweight title challenger brought his A-game last night against former two-time All-American Josh Hendricks but let’s not forget he was broken by both Couture and Fabricio Werdum. I see Lesnar doing the same.

UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar? Get used to the term, as the Brock Lesnar era is upon us.

Is Brock Lesnar for real?

You bet. And there’s no doubt that there will still be haters that say he hasn’t proved anything because he beat a 45 year-old fighter, but Brock Lesnar is as real as it possibly gets. He didn’t just beat a 45 year-old fighter, he beat Randy Freaking Couture and knocked him silly. If you don’t think Lesnar is for real right now after that fight then I don’t know if you know what you’re watching.

Couture did well during the fight, don’t get me wrong. His gameplan was good, much like the one he employed against Gabriel Gonzaga, trying to make the bigger man fight off the cage. He even landed some good shots and cut Lesnar. But Lesnar is just so huge, so fast, so agile, and so strong that he trumps a good gameplan. A glancing blow from this guy is going to knock you out and that’s just all there is to it. That kind of power trumps experience and gameplanning, the two advantages that Couture was going to have to rely upon.

Tonight Brock Lesnar made me a believer. With his size, his power, his speed, and his technical wrestling ability he is going to be a force to be reckoned with at heavyweight for a long time. Whether it be Nogueira or whether it be Mir, either guy is in for a serious fight.

We’ll see Randy Couture again

I know that our very own Sam Caplan questioned whether or not Randy Couture would fight again if he lost. I truly believe that he can’t be happy with the way tonight ended and no fighter of Couture’s caliber wants to go out on a loss. Couture came out of the fight largely unharmed aside from his ego and I think we’ll see him compete again. The only question at this point is whether it will be at heavyweight or light heavyweight.

Kenny Florian is the third best lightweight in the UFC

Florian once again impressed the hell out of me tonight with that quick submission victory over Joe Stevenson. Even B.J. Penn didn’t finish Stevenson that quickly. I still believe, however, that B.J. Penn and Sean Sherk are still #1 and #2 respectively. He fought a fantastic fight and made a great fighter in Joe Stevenson look silly on the ground. As he looks to a title shot he’s looking at either a fight with Penn or a possible rematch against Sean Sherk depending on what happens in Penn’s fight with St. Pierre. I don’t like Kenflo’s chances against Penn but a rematch with Sherk is a fantastic fight.

Dustin Hazelett has some of the best MMA jiu jitsu

Dustin Hazelett continues to throw up some of the sickest submissions we’ve ever seen in MMA and tonight he did it once again to Tamdan McCrory with that reverse armbar with an omoplata setup. That was just sickening and McCrory is not a slouch on the ground himself. Hazelett’s use of the rubber guard has been working very well for him in his last few fights and tonight it led him to victory. Hazelett is not an upper echelon fighter right now, but he is only 22 years old and has a long career ahead of him to improve. I’m glad this fight got moved to the main card just to see the submission.

Demian Maia is textbook

Speaking of jiu jitsu, Demian Maia is a freaking beast on the ground and in the grappling game. His ability to get Quarry down from that whizzer was beautiful and the subsequent ground work was textbook. Whether it be two or three fights from now or whether it be ten fights from now, Maia is going to get a title shot at some point in time during his tenure with the UFC. Nate Quarry is not a slouch and Maia made him look stupid tonight. Big things ahead for Demian Maia. If you didn’t believe the hype before, you best believe it now.

Other Musings:

• Will we see Randy Couture back in the broadcast booth now that he’s back with the UFC and has the fight out of the way? I sure would love to see him back in the booth with Rogan and Goldberg during big fights. His expert opinion from a fighter’s perspective is priceless and having him back in the booth would be a huge boost to the UFC’s broadcasts.
• I know, Josh Hendricks was riding a ten-fight win streak coming into this fight. And yes I know he has some wrestling credentials. But did this guy not look like someone they just pulled out of the bar? You knew Gonzaga was going to maul this guy.
• If Rashad Evans didn’t have knockout of the year already sealed up, Jeremy Stephens’ uppercut would be in the running. What a vicious punch.

Lesnar was able to defeat Randy Couture on Saturday night via TKO in the second round.  A right hand in the second round that landed square on the side of Randy Couture’s head that put the UFC Hall of Famer down on the mat. Lesnar took advantage of the opportunity and pounced on Couture as he went down, landing a rapid series of hammer fists that forced referee Mario Yamazaki to stop the fight just over midway through the second round.

Up until the right hand, the fight was competitive with Randy Couture landing some good shots in the standup game and even cut him, something that’s never happened to Lesnar in a fight before. Randy was also forcing Lesnar to fight off the cage much like the gameplan he employed against a bigger opponent in Gabriel Gonzaga. Even when Lesnar was able to get Couture to the mat, Couture was able to work his way back to his feet. The 45 year-old champion was a game opponent but in the end it turned out to be the size and the strength of Lesnar that put the champion down.

“Those are some big ass hamhocks comin’ at you, it hard to get out of the way of those,” Couture said to Joe Rogan during the post fight interview. When asked how he felt about the size difference, Couture stated that he felt comfortable with it coming in but that Lesnar was just enormous. “He’s a big sumbitch, that’s just all there is to it, ” Couture remarked to Rogan after the fight.

Brock Lesnar’s record goes to 3-1 and sometime next year he will fight the winner of  Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira which takes place at UFC 92 this December.

In the co-main event of the evening, Kenny Florian made short work of Joe Stevenson, submitting him via rear naked choke in the first round. The fight never seemed in question for Florian even when Stevenson was able to take him down early. Florian was able to get back to his feet, clinch with Stevenson and take him down. From there Florian quickly worked to mount, take Stevenson’s back, and sink in a rear naked choke as Stevenson tried to get back to his feet.

Florian earned himself a guaranteed shot at the lightweight title with the victory and called out the current champion, B.J. Penn, in the post fight interview. Florian said that he respects Penn as a master of the game but now it’s time to “kill the master,” as Florian put it.

In other action on the card, Dustin Hazelett continued to look impressive at 170 lbs. by defeating Tamdan McCrory via reverse armbar in the first round. McCrory looked good out of the gates, landing a nice combination against Hazelett and putting him on his back with a takedown. Hazelett’s guard game proved to be too dangerous for McCrory, however, and the Kentucky native was able to work for an omoplata and turned it into a reverse armbar, most likely earning himself Submission of the Night.

Gabriel Gonzaga made very short work of Josh Hendricks, landing a straight right hand that dropped Hendricks to the mat early in the first round. Gonzaga pounced on Hendricks to end the fight, hitting him twice more before the referee stepped in to stop the fight.

In the opening bout on the main card, Demia Maia continued to look like a force at middleweight, taking Nate Quarry to the mat early in the fight as a result of some really great work in the whizzer position. Maia was able to pass Quarry’s guard and move easily into the mount. From there he took Quarry’s back and it was only a matter of time until he sank in a rear naked choke to force Quarry to tap.

Below are the full results from tonight’s card:

PRELIMINARY CARD:

Matt Brown def. Ryan Thomas via submission– 0:57, Round 2
Mark Bocek def. Alvin Robinson via submission — 3:16, Round 3
Jeremy Stephens def. Rafael dos Anjos via TKO –:39, Round 3
Aaron Riley def. Jorge Gurgel via unanimous decision

MAIN CARD:

Demian Maia def. Nate Quarry via submission– 2:13, Round 1
Gabriel Gonzaga def. Josh Hendricks via TKO–1:01, Round 1
Dustin Hazelett def. Tamdan McCrory via submission 3:59, Round 1
Kenny Florian def. Joe Stevenson via submission 4:03 Round 1
Brock Lesnar def. Randy Couture via TKO 3:07 Round 2

Welcome to Fiveouncesofpain.com‘s live coverage of UFC 91: Lesnar vs. Couture, tonight’s event is being held live at the MGM Grand Hotel, Las Vegas, NV. UFC 91 features a heavyweight championship fight between Randy Couture and Brock Lesnar in a fight being called “the biggest fight in the history of the UFC.” Also on the card  lightweight contenders collide as Kenny Florian faces off with Joe Stevenson in a fight that will guarantee the winner a title shot.

Live round-by-round coverage will begin at approximately 8 p.m. ET.

The Fiveouncesofpain.com Live Event Chat Room has also returned for this special event, come join fellow Fiveouncesofpain.com readers during the event and discuss the action.

You can press F5 on your keyboard to update this page and it’s comments.

The first preliminary Fight will start at 8:15p.m. ET.

Matt Brown Vs. Ryan Thomas

Round 1
Ryan Thomas starts off with a leg kick and a right head kick. Thomas with a takedown and moves to side control. Brown gets back to his feet and the two clinch. Brown with a reverse Thomas and puts him up against the fence. Another takedown by Thomas. Brown sinks in an armbar. Thomas with a scoop and slam, brown doesn’t let go. Thomas escapes the armbar. Thomas is now in full guard. Matt Brown works back to his feed and Thomas attempts a takedown. Brown with a guillotine attempt. Thomas escapes.

Round 2
Thomas starts off the round with two head kick attempts, Thomas then takes Brown down and Brown locks in another armbar. Thomas again tries to slam out of the submission attempt without success. He attempts another slam but Brown grabs a leg and prevents in, and locks in the submission. Thomas Taps.

Matt Brown def. Ryan Thomas via submission– 0:57, Round 2

Alvin Robinson Vs. Mark Bocek

Round 1
The round begins, and Bocek quickly scores a takedown, and lands in Robinson’s guard. Bocek is working the body and head. Bocek attempts to pass guard, and Robinson reverses. Bocek quickly escapes and takes the fight back to the mat. Bocek has side control on Robinson, Bocek delivers some elbows. Bocek is now in Robinsons guard dropping elbows and trying to improve position. Bocek gets back to side control, and then north south, it looks as if he has a choke locked in. The bell rings and Robinson is saved.

Round 2
the round begins and the two fighters exchange punches. Bocek quickly tosses Robinson to the canvas and gets side control. Bocek with some painful knees to the body. Bocek then attempts a guillotine. Robinson rolls over and Bocek again takes north-south position while locking in a choke. Robinson’s survives somehow, and Bocek gives up the submission attempt. Bocek returns to side control then advances to mount. Bocek now drops some punches and moves to Robinson’s back Bocek is working the rear-naked choke. Robinson fights it , Bocek is using punches to loosen him up. Bocek can’t lock in the choke. Robinson escapes, and Bocek takes an arm briefly before returning to Robinson’s guard as the round comes to a close.

Round 3
Round 3 starts the same as the second with the two fighters exchanging punches. After a brief clinch Robinson locks on a guillotine. Bocek slams him to the mat and breaks free. Bocek is again in side control and obtains full mount from the frustrated Robinson. Robinson tries to escape mount and Bocek holds strong. Robinson gives up his back and quickly realizes his error and rolls back to his back briefly. He then gives up his back once more, and as expected Bocek Locks in the rear naked choke for the win.

Mark Bocek def. Alvin Robinson via submission — 3:16, Round 3

Jeremy Stephens Vs. Rafael dos Anjos

Round 1
dos Anjos lands a leg kick, and the first round is under way. The fighters exchange some punches. Stephens is throwing some heavy shot, and dos Anjos defends nicely. dos Anjos shoots the takedown, and Stephens sprawls to avoid the floor. dos Anjos backs Stephens into the cage and grabs a single leg, and the fight goes to the canvas.. Stephens escapes and is quickly taken back to the mat. dos Anjos gets his back but can’t secure the position. Stephens moves to the fence attempts to return to his feed and attempts a weak guillotine. dos Anjos is unfazed and moves into the north-south position, then to side control. dos Anjos is working on the ground, and Stephens manages to reverse positions right into a dos Anjos arm bar. dos Anjos works a variety of submissions ending in and unsuccessful rear naked choke, the round comes to an end.

Round 2
Both fighters appear cautious as the second round begins. Stephens is cautious of the takedown and dos Anjos shoots immediately after throwing a punch. Stephens sprawls and is taken to the mat . Stephens moves to his knees and dos Anjos takes his back. dos Anjos is working the rear-naked choke. He is using punches to soften Stephens. Stephens rolls free and directly into an arm-bar. He gets his arm free and the crowd goes wild, Stephens then lands some elbows from inside dos Anjos’s guard. Stephens lands some final shots and the round comes to a close.

Round 3
The final frame opens up and Stephens lands a Right followed by an uppercut that sends dos Anjos to the mat. Stephens jumps on the chance and finishes dos Anjos as Steve Mazzagatti steps in for the save.

Jeremy Stephens def. Rafael dos Anjos via TKO –:39, Round 3

Jorge Gurgel Vs. Aaron Riley

Round 1
Riley is aggressive on his feet early with kicks and punches and Gurgel returns with a combo of his own. Riley crushes Gurgel with a low blow straight to the apple bag, and the bout is halted. The fight is restarted and both fighters trade ombinations. Gurgel lands a nice multi punch combination followed by a brutal leg kick. Riley continues to press forward landing punches of his own. Riley sees a Gurgel head kick coming from the parking lot and avoids it. a head kick, and the fighters then exchange elbows . Gurgel with a good body kick. The two fighters trade knees,Gurgel lans two effective head kicks, followed by a combo as the round comes to a close.

Round 2
Gurgel appears to be happy to keep this fight on the feet and lands a body kick to start the round . The fighters exchange punches both doing damage. Gurgel seems confident on his feed and Riley then takes him to the canvas. Riley working from Gurgel’s guard stands and just avoids an upkick. Riley now rains down punches on Gurgel. Riley slows his assult and Gurgel gets back to his feet. The two continue to exchange kicks and punches and Gurgel scores his first takedown and the round comes to a close.

Round 3
Gurgel starts the third with a solid body kick, and both fighters land solid combinations. Gurgel thows another body kick. Both fighters trade impressive head kicks and Gurgel could be in trouble.Riley lands another kick and then a combo to the dazed Gurgel who ties up the action and takes a knee for his trouble. The fight slows and Gurgel lands a right and Riley a knee to the body. Riley lands a stiff jab, and Gurgel is knocked to the canvas while trying a head kick. Gurgel returns to his feet and lands a body kick. the fighters clinch and Riley lands a knee to Gurgel’s midsection. The fighters begin to appear tired and trade sloppy punches as the round comes to a close, we are going to the judges.

Aaron Riley def. Jorge Gurgel via unanimous decision

Nate Quarry Vs. Demian Maia

Round 1

The fighters touch gloves and we’re off.  Maia pulls guard. Maia is now on top.  Maia has moved to full mount. Maia has his back, and is now looking for the rear naked choke.  Maia has a body triangle in place.  Maia loosens up Quarry with some shots to the jaw. Maia continues to deliver damage, and get under the cin and Quarry Taps quickly.

Demian Maia def. Nate Quarry via submission– 2:13,  Round 1

Gabriel Gonzaga Vs. Josh Hendricks

Round 1

?Both fighters exchange blows early.  Knees are exhanged and the fight is surprisingly fast paced.  Gonzaga takes to the fight to the floor briefly.  Gonzaga clinches, and lands two knees and breaks out of the clinch with a HUGE right hand that knocks  Hendricks out.

Gabriel Gonzaga def. Josh Hendricks via TKO–1:01,   Round 1

Dustin Hazelett Vs. Tamdan McCrory

Round 1

The round starts and the fighters are feeling each other out.  McCrory lands a nice head kick. The fighters continue to exchange kicks. Hazelett lands a big left and  appears to hurt McCrory for a second.  McCrory quickly recovers.  McCrory takes Hazelett to the floor, Hazelett pulls rubber guard into an armbar to omaplata, and McCrory rolls over to escape danger.  Hazelett still has the arm, and turns McCrory back over, strightens out the arm and McCrory taps to keep his arm in one piece. Beautiful finish, very good fight.

Dustin Hazelett def. Tamdan McCrory  via  submission 3:59,   Round 1

Kenny Florian Vs. Joe Stevenson

Round 1

The fight starts with a Florian low kick. Florian lands a combo, followed by a knee.  Stevenson keeps moving forward.  Stevenson lands a few big shots and moves Florian up against the cage.  Single leg takedown by Stevenson, and Florian is quick back to his feet. Stevenson keeps Florian against the cage.  Stevenson lifts Florian , Florian grabs the cage to stop the slam and is warned by Herb Dean.  The fighters move back to the center of the cage and begin to exchange.  Florian  takes Stevenson to the floor, and works from half guard.   Florian moves to mount and begins to rain down on Stevenson.   Joe Daddy rolls and Kenny takes his back.  Kenny sinks in the choke and  Stevenson taps!!!!!!!

Kenny Florian def. Joe Stevenson  via submission 4:03     Round 1

Randy Couture Vs. Brock Lesnar

Round 1

The round begins and the two circle and tie up.  Brock with some knees and Randy backs Brock into the cage.  Lesnar with a good knee. They remain against the cage, and Brock continues to land big knees.  Brok is now leaning on Couture against the cage. Randy lands a right as the two move off the cage. Brock shoots, Randy fights the takedown, And Lesnar takes down Couture and ends up in Randy’s half guard. Lesnar briefly mounts Couture escapes.  Randy is trying to take Lesnar’s back, the crowd goes crazy, and Lesnar powers back into Coutures half guard. Brock has Couture on his back.  Lesnar landing some shots, but Couture defending well.  Lesnar looks patient, and Randy works back to his feet.  Couture is leaning into Brock against the cage.  Lesnar looks winded.    And the round comes to and end.

Round 2

Brock starts off with a jab.  Lesnar hits Randy with and elbow and wobbles Couture.  Couture pushes Lesnar against the cage and uses the time to recover. The two exhange knees.  Lesnar lands a big knee, and Couture answers.  Lesnar is cut above his right eye. Brock shoots, and gets stuffed by Couture who again pushes the fight up against the cage. Couture working for the takedown,  but Lesnar lands another big knee.  Lesnar with a huge shot, Couture is hurt, Lesnar leaps on him and pounds him out.

Brock Lesnar def. Randy Couture  via TKO 3:07       Round 2

“If Lesnar can have success early, gain some confidence and relax to the degree that he’s not psyching himself out I still see Lesnar winning,” writes Ross. “If Lesnar can relax, weather the storm the first couple of rounds that Brock has the better chance of winning.”

In the past, Ross has worked in the WWE’s front office as a Vice President of Talent Relations. While serving in that role, he was credited as the man responsible for getting Lesnar to come to pro wrestling soon after he became the NCAA heavyweight champion in 2002.

While Ross is picking Lesnar to win, he still isn’t going overboard in spite of their past affiliation.

“I’m not overly sold on my prediction and if I were in Vegas Saturday night I would not bet a dime as it really is too close to call and too unpredictable to figure out, at least for me it is,” the veteran broadcaster added.

In addition to making a prediction in the blog entry, Ross also commented on the UFC’s prediction that UFC 91 could accumulate as many as 1.2 million buys.

“UFC officials are predicting north of (one million) PPV buys but I don’t see it,” states Ross. “The American economy is deplorable, the event isn’t sold out, and with PPV buys being discretionary purchases I would suggest that if UFC 91 gets 500,000-750,000 buys it should be considered a major success. Anyone who argues that the economy won’t affect the number of buys is fooling one’s self.”

It is important to note that both Couture and Lesnar stand to earn substantially more for their efforts in tonight’s fight. Both Couture and Lesnar will be eligible to win fight night bonuses such as cash rewards for “Fight of the Night,” “Knockout of the Night,” and “Submission of the Night.” Based on UFC president Dana White’s stated projection of 1.2 million pay-per-view buys, the promotion could give a record total in fight night bonuses.

Also, while not confirmed, based on past contract provisions, both Couture and Lesnar are expected to receive a percentage of PPV revenue generated from tonight’s fight. When it’s all said and done, both Couture and Lesnar are expected to make seven figures a piece from UFC 91.

How does Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar stack up? Click here to see and decide for yourself. Fights such as Royce Gracie vs. Ken Shamrock from UFC 5, Matt Hughes vs. Royce Gracie from UFC 60, and Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva from UFC 79 all made the cut. Did your favorite fight make it? There’s only one way to find out.

Also available on CBSSports.com is a UFC 91 head-to-head preview with picks from CBSSports.com MMA contributors such as Denny Burkholder, Todd Martin, as well as Sam.