Ultimate Fight Night Re-Cap

Sorry guys, had a busy couple days but did manage to catch the fights on Wednesday night which was probably the best fight card the UFC has put out.

Main Card:

Kenny Florian (9-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) took a giant stride toward title shot contention with a dominating second round and eventual TKO victory over fellow lightweight Joe Lauzon (16-4 MMA, 3-1 UFC).

Hoping to reclaim a second shot at the 155-pound title, Florian picked up his fourth consecutive victory since a loss to then-champ Sean Sherk at UFC 64.

"I knew it was going to be a tough fight," Florian said. "I probably shouldn't be here today fighting today. I pushed through some things physically, and I was just lucky to be here in the ring tonight."

Florian endured a frantic first round -- one that included a temporary stoppage as Herb Dean issued him a warning for strikes to the back of Lauzon's head. The strikes looked as though they primarily struck the top of the head, but as Lauzon adjusted his position, a few connected in the illegal area.

Lauzon used some takedowns and submission attempts and likely picked up some winning first-round scores, but the second round was all Florian. After securing the takedown, he spent the next two minutes delivering a brutal barrage and elbows and punches from the mount position. Referee Herb Dean held off on the stoppage as long as possible but finally relented at the 3:28 mark.

Although Lauzon's six-fight win streak was snapped, the B.J. Penn-trained fighter proved he can hang with the division's best.

Florian, though, was determined to get the victory.

"I'm not going to let anyone break my will in here," he said. "That's what I want to do -- take someone's heart."

In a fast-paced bout between evenly matched lightweights, "The Ultimate Fighter 5" stand-out Gray Maynard (5-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) out-pointed rising contender Frankie Edgar (8-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC). The back-and-forth, technical battle remained close through the first two rounds, but Maynard used no fewer than three slams to become the decisive winner of a pivotal third round.

As it turned out, though, he won all three rounds on all three judges' scorecards for the 30-27, 30-27, 30-27 victory. With the win, which snapped Edgar's previously unblemished record, the reality-TV star keeps his own undefeated record in tact.

"I'm not just a TV guy anymore," Maynard said.

After a close first round between two top welterweight contenders, Thiago Alves (15-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) blasted veteran Karo Parisyan (18-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) with a knee to the face. The blow caused Parisyan to collapse to the mat, and the stoppage came soon after Alves followed up the knee with a series of punches just 34 seconds into the second round.

Parisyan was angered and protested the stoppage, but Alves felt the call was justified.

"He was out," Alves said. "I caught him with the left knee, and he was out. I kept punching and punching."

With the victory, his fifth straight in the UFC, Alves moves ever closer to a title shot. However, he's not so much demanding one as he's simply hoping for a shot at the belt.

"I'm right on the top," Alves said of his standing in a crowded 170-pound division. "I'm ready, but I never choose my opponents."

Tim Boetsch made quite the impact when he took a fight on 10 days' notice and stopped veteran David Heath earlier this year. However, he wouldn't fare so well against "The Ultimate Fighter 3" cast member Matt Hamill.

After eating a knee and having his lip split wide open, Hamill was determined to end it early in the second. After Boetsch (7-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) failed on a single-leg takedown attempt, Hamill (4-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) collapsed on top of him and rained down a series of answered punches.

"I was going to keep punching until it was stopped," Hamill said.

Hamill landed dozens of undefended blows before the bout was finally called at 1:25 of the second round.

After being battered and bloodied for more than a round during his fight with Kurt Pellegrino, "The Ultimate Fighter 6" winner Nate Diaz used his opponent's sloppy slam to lock in a triangle choke. Diaz (9-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) celebrated the victory, flexing for the cameras and raising his arms in victory, before Pellegrino (11-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) could even tap from the submission.

"I just want people to know that sometimes people think that "[The] Ultimate Fighters" are sheltered," said Diaz, who specifically asked for a tough opponent in this fight. "Not me. I'm not looking for no shelter."

The victory, Diaz's fourth straight in the UFC, came at 3:06 of the second round.

A fight between light heavyweights Houston Alexander and James Irvin was expected to end quickly. Few would have predicted it would end so quickly and so devastatingly, though. Irvin (14-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) struck first, landing a Superman punch -- his first strike of the night -- dropping Alexander (8-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) to the mat, where a series of unanswered strikes continued. The bout was stopped, much to the dismay of Alexander, who claimed he never went unconscious.

With the eight-second TKO, Irvin goes into the record books tying the mark for the quickest knockout in UFC history.

Because of the several quick knockouts we were treated to the fight between Tommy Speer and Anthony Johnson. The TUF 6 runner up to Mac Danzig didn't have a chance as he was completely smothered by Johnson's strikes. The fight was ended by the ref at 51 seconds of the very first round due to strikes.

Preliminary Card

Josh Neer def. Din Thomas via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Marcus Aurelio def. Ryan Roberts via submission (armbar) -- Round 1, 0:16
Manny Gamburyan def. Jeff Cox via submission (guillotine choke) -- Round 1, 1:41
Clay Guida def. Samy Schiavo via TKO (strikes) -- Round 1, 4:15
George Sotiropoulos def. Roman Mitichyan via TKO (strikes) -- Round 2, 2:24