The Real UFC 91 Re-cap

Massive heavyweight Brock Lesnar (3-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) defied the odds and earned one title while dropping another.

With a stunning second-round TKO of the legendary Randy Couture (16-9 MMA, 13-6 UFC) Lesnar can finally put to rest the moniker of WWE-import in lieu of UFC heavyweight champion.

Lesnar looked patient throughout the round-and-a-half it took to dispatch of the 45-year-old Couture. "The Natural" controlled Lesnar in stretches by forcing his adversary against the cage. But the former collegiate wrestling champion used a heavy right hand to crumple Couture to the mat.

Once the former champion had fallen, Lesnar followed with a barrage of punches. Referee Mario Yamasaki gave Couture all the respect one could ask for, and the crowd favorite was given plenty of time to recover. The offense did not cease, and Yamasaki was forced to halt the contest at 3:07 of the second round.

Following the bout, the always-outspoken Lesnar told announcer Joe Rogan he liked the sound of his new title.

"It sounds good," Lesnar said. "I can't believe it. I want to thank (UFC President) Dana White, the UFC, and I want to thank this guy, Randy Couture.

"It takes a lot of balls to take a year off and come back and fight a young buck like me."

Lesnar also addressed the personality traits that have made the former professional wrestler a heel in most MMA fans' minds.

"I just believe in hard work and that it pays off," Lesnar said. "I may come across as a cocky SOB, but I'm just confident."

Gracious in defeat, Couture admitted the massive difference in size proved too difficult to overcome.

"There was some big ass ham hocks coming at you," Couture said of Lesnar's oversized hands. "It's hard to get out of the way of those."

"That's just a big son of a bitch, that's all there is to it."

When pressed regarding his immediate future, the 11-year veteran said time will tell.

"We'll let things settle out and figure out what we want to do," Couture said. "I still feel like I'm getting better as a fighter. We'll see what happens."

Meanwhile, Kenny Florian earned his second shot at the UFC's lightweight title. Again.

Three months since a unanimous-decision victory over Roger Huerta in a bout to crown a No. 1 challenger for B.J. Penn's lightweight belt, Florian again had to prove his top contender's status. And Florian (11-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) did it in swift and convincing fashion with a first-round submission victory over Joe Stevenson (29-9 MMA, 6-3 UFC).

The fight, which served as UFC 91's co-main event, remained relatively close through the first half of the first round. However, once Florian scored a late-round takedown, he easily transitioned into full mount, took his opponent's back when Stevenson rolled over, and sunk in the fight-ending rear-naked choke during "Joe Daddy's" last-ditch effort to escape.

The tap-out came at the 4:03 mark.

Florian, who's now six consecutive fights since an October 2006 loss to Sean Sherk for the vacant title, remained polite in the pre-event build-up. But he made a bold statement once the fight was over and clearly stated his intentions to challenge for Penn's title.

"I want B.J.'s belt," Florian said. "I consider you the master. I want to kill that master."

Penn, though, will first move up a weight class to fight Georges St. Pierre for his welterweight belt on Jan. 31. The duo kicked off a press tour today in Las Vegas to promote the fight. They next head to Toronto and wrap up the tour later this week in Hawaii.

In an intriguing welterweight bout that was promoted to the televised main card last week, Dustin Hazelett did nothing to hurt his goal of setting a career UFC record for Submission of the Night bonuses.

Two months after he was awarded his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, and five months after he won first career Submission of the Night bonus (and Fight of the Night bonus -- in the same night), Hazelett (12-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) defeated fellow prospect Tamdan McCrory (9-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) with a slick arm-bar submission at 3:59 of the first round.

The fight resembled a Muay Thai contest early on (aided by Hazelett's recent work with training partner and striking stand-out Dorian Price), but after forcing the fight to the mat, Hazelett secured McCrory's right arm. For the next minute, he methodically and masterfully went to work looking for a way to force the submission. Although an omoplata at first appeared possible, Hazelett ultimately settled for an arm-bar submission -- one that had McCrory in obviously agonizing pain.

Prior to UFC 91, Hazelett had never appeared on a televised UFC card. The opportunity arose only after "The Ultimate Fighter 7" winner Amir Sadollah was forced out of his bout with Nick Catone due to a leg infection.

Hazelett has now won five of his past six fights -- all in the UFC and all but one via submission. In fact, he's posted nine submission victories with his 12 career wins.

At just 22 years old, Hazelett's undoubtedly become one of the welterweight division's most promising prospects.

Gabriel Gonzaga (10-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) wants another title shot, and though the title picture is tied up until at least mid-2009 with the current four-man heavyweight championship tournament, Saturday's victory over Josh Hendricks (15-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC) will keep "Napao" near the top of the contenders list.

Gonzaga dropped Hendricks with an early right and followed with a few punches for good measure. Referee Steve Mazzagatti stepped in to halt the bout and awarded Gonzaga the victory just 61 seconds into the first round.

Gonzaga has now earned back-to-back victories since an August 2007 title loss to Randy Couture and a subsequent TKO defeat to Fabricio Werdum six months later.

"I want a title shot, and next time I'm going to get the belt," Gonzaga said.

The loss snapped an 11-fight undefeated streak Hendricks put together over the past three years.

In the night's first televised bout, Demian Maia (9-0 MMA 4-0 UFC) made suprisingly quick work of veteran middleweight Nate Quarry (10-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) and forced a tap-out via rear-naked choke at 2:13 of the first round.

After a slick transition to take his opponent's back, Maia locked in a body triangle and soon secured the fight-ending choke.

The victory, which was the undefeated Maia's fourth in the UFC, obviously forces the fighter into the middleweight division's title picture. But Maia's not sure if a fight with current champ Anderson Silva is a lock.

"It's up to Dana White and (UFC matchmaker) Joe Silva," Maia said. "There are many tough guys (in the division)."

In the meantime, Maia may have other plans. With the UFC searching for a coach to oppose Michael Bisping on the upcoming eighth season of "The Ultimate Fighter," candidates Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson don't seem especially interested in the position.

But is Maia?

"Maybe Michael Bisping is a good fight for me," he said.

The coaches typically meet in a post-show fight. Could a Bisping vs. Maia fight crown a top contender?

PRELIMINARY CARD

In a lightweight fight that won over the live crowd, Aaron Riley (27-10-1 MMA, 1-2 UFC) dropped the first round to Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Jorge Gurgel but won the next two for a close but unanimous decision victory. All three judges scored the fight 29-28 for Riley, who returned to the UFC for the first time since January 2006. Sticking with recent tradition, Gurgel opted to keep the fight standing. Riley, though, couldn't truly capitalize until the final round -- the only round either fighter decidedly won.

UFC newcomer Rafael dos Anjos continually took the hard-hitting and energetic Jeremy Stephens to the ground and out of his comfort zone through two rounds of action, but "Lil' Heathen" exacted his revenge in the third. Connecting on one of the most brutal uppercuts in recent history, Stephens (14-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) followed dos Anjos (11-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) to the mat and delivered a barrage of punches before Mazzagatti could halt the bout. It was the 11th knockout victory in 13 career wins for Stephens.

Persistence paid off for Mark Bocek (6-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC), who transitioned from submission attempt to submission attempt during his lightweight bout with Alvin Robinson (9-4 MMA, 1-3 UFC). In what was his most impressive UFC performance to date, Bocek eventually forced the tap-out via rear-naked choke at 3:16 of the third round.

Ryan Thomas (9-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC) controlled the first round with takedowns and ground and pound, but late replacement Matt Brown (7-6 MMA, 2-1 UFC) secured an early arm-bar submission in the second and forced the tap-out just 57 seconds into the round. Brown, who replaced an injured Matt Riddle on just two weeks' notice, is now 2-1 since appearing on "The Ultimate Fighter 7." The lone loss came to undefeated Dong Hyun Kim via close split decision.