| UFC 68 RESULTS |
COUTURE DOMINATES SYLVIA
Call Randy Couture the giant killer. You can also call him champ.
UFC Hall of Famer Couture dominated Tim Sylvia to win his third UFC heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 68 in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday. Couture, 43, came out of retirement to challenge Sylvia, whom he dominated through five rounds en route to a unanimous decision.
"Not bad for an old man," Couture said following his victory.
Couture’s title win happened in front of the largest live audience for an MMA event in U.S. history, according to UFC, which claimed the attendance in Columbus exceeded 19,000 spectators.
Couture controlled the entire fight, scoring a one-punch knockdown that rocked Sylvia just a few seconds into the first round. The 6-foot-2 Couture spent the remainder of the fight keeping Sylvia, at 6-foot-8, on the defensive with precise striking and frequent takedowns.
Sylvia was favored by many to win the fight, due to factors such as Couture’s age and Sylvia’s height and reach advantage. Sylvia also figured to have the better striking game, an idea Couture erased with one fierce punch as the first round began. Couture connected on far more punches than Sylvia, and while Couture could not finish off his larger opponent, he was consistent in doing damage in all five rounds.
With the win, Couture regained the UFC heavyweight title he has held twice before. He also earned the ominous task of facing Mirko Cro Cop at some point in the near future, provided Cro Cop defeats Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 70 on April 21. Cro Cop, one of the most-feared knockout artists in mixed martial arts history, is heavily favored to beat Gonzaga and to eventually claim the UFC heavyweight title this year.
Couture’s remarkable win capped off a night of successful returns by former UFC champions.
Former middleweight champion Rich "Ace" Franklin defeated Jason MacDonald via technical knockout at 5:00 of the second round. Franklin ended the second round with a flurry of punches on the ground, nearly earning a referee stoppage. MacDonald’s corner then threw in the towel when it became apparent that MacDonald had suffered too much damage to continue the fight.
With the win, Franklin took a step toward regaining his confidence following his devastating first-round knockout loss to Anderson Silva last year. Silva and Franklin had a brief meeting in the Octagon after Franklin’s victory, exchanging compliments and hyping a potential rematch.
Matt Hughes also got back in the win column following his UFC welterweight title loss to Georges St. Pierre in November, as Hughes won a unanimous decision over Chris Lytle. Hughes admitted after the fight that he didn’t win as convincingly as he had hoped, although the win brought him a step closer to his own title rematch.
Complete results from UFC 68 in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday:
1. Jamie Varner defeated Jason Gilliam via submission at 1:34 of Round 1.
2. Gleison Tibau defeated Jason Dent via unanimous decision after three rounds.
3. Jon Fitch defeated Luigi Foiravanti via submission to a rear-naked choke at 3:05 of Round 3.
4. Matt Hamill defeated Rex Holman via TKO at 4:00 of Round 1.
5. Jason Lambert defeated Renato "Babalu" Sobral via TKO at 3:36 of Round 2.
6. Rich Franklin defeated Jason MacDonald via TKO due to strikes at 5:00 of Round 2.
7. Martin Kampmann defeated Drew McFedries via submission to a triangle choke at 4:06 of Round 1.
8. Matt Hughes defeated Chris Lytle via unanimous decision after three rounds.
9. Randy "The Natural" Couture defeated Tim Sylvia via unanimous decision after five rounds to win the UFC heavyweight title.
| " | Couture controlled the entire fight, scoring a one-punch knockdown that rocked Sylvia just a few seconds into the first round. The 6-foot-2 Couture spent the remainder of the fight keeping Sylvia, at 6-foot-8, on the defensive with precise striking and frequent takedowns. |
Just like with cars you can’t classify ppl by age. Some ppl are just like certain models of cars they just are simply better. Age doesn’t affect Couture and he proved it. Some 18 yr olds have bad backs,knees,etc
while some 50 year olds are just simply blasting through! It’s the Model
not the age! Go Couture!