UFC 92: Rashad Evans knocked Forrest Griffin
UFC 92: Rashad Evans knocked Forrest Griffin – Rashad Evans knocked the champion of the mid-heavy Forrest Griffin, Saturday night at UFC 92.
Griffin used his size and a good footwork to keep his opponent at a distance in the first two rounds, but Evans (18-0-1) managed to bring him to the ground in the third, the stunned with a right and then finished with four straight and seven lefts to the face.
The referee Steve Mazzagatti ended the fight at 2:46 of the third round.
“I will return,” said Griffin (16-5), who defended his title for the first time.
In sub-card, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson defeated Wanderlei Silva, while the former heavyweight champion Frank Mir dominated Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and won by decision of the referee in the second round.
Jackson has confirmed his victory with a single punch from the first round of a battle between two heavy weight fighters unable to feel.
Silva has launched a combination before being surprised by the reply of Jackson, who sent him to the mat with a left hook to the jaw. The Montreal referee Yves Lavigne was then rushed to stop the fight, but Jackson took the time to make himself understood with two shots before the last official stop of the massacre at 3:21 of the first recovery.
It was a secret to anyone: Jackson and Silva hate. The two were also came to blows at the official weigh-Friday.
Silva had beaten Jackson twice in the Pride organization in 2003 and 2004 and judging by the public reaction, most viewers hoped to see Silva win for a third time.
But Jackson was determined to take revenge. He brought his card to 29-7 with the victory while the file Silva rose to 32-9-1.
As for Mir, which was largely ignored before the fight, he surprised everyone with the power of his shots and won the first round easily. In the second, the veteran pushed Nogueira with a left and sent it to the mat with another, finishing the job with a flurry of blows.