The highly anticipated UFC 81 has now come and gone and with it some of the more entertaining and technical fights that have been seen in some time. Let's get right to it.

First up was a lightweight fight between Tyson Griffin and Gleison Tibau.

This fight came out as a classic example of the striker/brawler versus the Brazilian Jujitsu black belt. Anyone that had any understanding of either fighter looked to see Griffin try and keep the fight on its feet and Tibau to take it to the ground. Round 1 consisted of Griffin controlling the majority of the round with very well placed shots, most of which included a powerful right hand that stayed loaded, looking for the knockout shots. Tibau did manage to take the fight to the ground, but seemed hesitant to maintain control, letting the fight get back to its feet.

Round 2 remained as more of the same as Griffin seemed to abandon a set up jab and insist on leading with his right cross, scoring more than a few times with well placed shots. Tibau managed to take the fight to the ground two more times in the round, but again seemed to give up control of Griffin's back, letting the fight get back to its feet. Griffin ended the round mixing up his strikes with several well placed inside leg kicks.

Round 3 kept with the theme of the fight: Griffin controlled the pace with strikes and dominant ring control and Tibau managed only a single take down and was unable to make anything of it. 

Result: Unanimous decisions of 30-27 for the winner Tyson Griffin.

Fight #2 was a middleweight fight between Rob Yundt and Gracie Jujitsu fighter Ricardo Almeida. 

This was a quick one. Almeida was able to end up in Yundt's guard quickly, but just as quickly reversed the position and sunk a guillotine choke from the guard. Yundt attempted a desperation slam trying to shake the choke but Almeida countered perfectly, rolling with the slam and sinking the choke deeper.

Result: Ricardo Almeida winner by tap out due to guillotine choke in the first round.

In a rare showing two consecutive middleweight fights were featured on a single fight card as the always dangerous and former #1 middleweight contender Nate Marquardt fought MMA veteran Jeremy Horn.

Round 1 opens with Nate Marquart controlling the fight by quickly taking Horn to the mat and dropping a vicious elbow to the head of Horn. Horn then spend most of the remainder of the round just trying to survive the almost non-stop barrage of strikes for an intense Marquart. Horn then attempted what few have ever succeeded in by attempting a gogoplata choke with time winding down in the first round. Marquart wisely defended by dropping his head and waiting for the bell.

Round 2 consisted of two surprises, the first was Joe Rogan's attempt at a Spanish accent as he tried to endorse www.UFCespanol.com, the second came in the form of Marquart sinking in a guillotine choke early as Horn tried to press Marquart against the cage. A brief attempt at spinning out of the choke was unsuccessful. 

Result: Nate Marquart wins by guillotine choke in the second round.

Fight #4 presented UFC fans with light heavyweight wrestler Tim Boetch versus striker David Heath.

Round 1 turned into a shocker as the underdog Tim Boetch who took the fight on short notice took the fight directly to David Heath landing incredibly accurate strikes from all angles and presenting a dominant clench that resulted in numerous unanswered knees to the face of Heath. Boetch took his advantage of momentum to the next level as he threw Heath to the ground and dropped quickly landing no less than six unanswered strikes before the fight was ended.

Result: Tim Boetch wins by referee stoppage due to strikes in the first round.

The next fight of the evening was perhaps the most anticipated as former NCAA heavyweight wrestling and WWE champion Brock the Rock Lesnar took on former UFC heavyweight champ Frank Mir.  In attendance for this fight were fellow wrestlers former Olympic champion Kurt Engle, The Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin (lip bulging with chew and beer in hand).

Round 1 opened with Lesnar quickly going for a shoot and taking Mir to the ground. Lesnar secured side control and began to rain shots on the former champ. Referee Steve Mazzagati stepped in, seemingly signaling that Lesnar had one as it looked as though he were raising Lesnar's hand, however suddenly Mazzagati restarted the fight from standing. One can only speculate as to why the fight was stopped and then why it was restarted from standing, but Lesnar lost dominant position and momentum in the process. Lesnar attempted to regain his position by again dropping Mir with a skilled take down. Mir countered by attempting an arm bar from the bottom, Lesnar avoided it and stood up, controlling Mir's legs and perhaps looking for an opening. It only took a moment for Mir to see his opening. He smoothing shift to his side, grabbed hold of Lesnar's ankle and executed a classic knee bar by bringing his leg over and across Lesnar's. It only took a few seconds for Lesnar to take from the pain.

Result: Frank Mir wins by knee bar in the first round.

It is here that I would like to note (for those that did not see the fight) Lesnar's reaction to his loss. He took his loss with that of a seasoned professional. He congratulated his opponent on capitalizing on his mistake and thanked his supporters. This may be the most important fight of his MMA career (but I will leave that for another article).

The final event of the evening pitted former UFC heavyweight champ Tim Sylvia versus former Pride heavyweight champ Minotauro Noguiera for the recently vacated UFC Heavyweight Championship.

Round 1  opened as many expected, Sylvia controlled the fight with his far reaching jab and countered Noguiera's take downs perfectly. He also was able to counter any take down by getting top position and bringing the fight back to its feet. The fight ended with Noguiera taking the brunt of the round.

Round 2 seemed to be more of the same as Sylvia showed his dominant striking ability and take down defense, wisely avoiding the ground, but also missing several chances to sinking a choke on the shooting Noguiera.

Round 3 seemed to come out of nowhere as an obviously frustrated Noguiera shot and took down Sylvia, then quickly adjusted and got side control. He then shifted his leg and arm position as though he were going for a leg over choke, but as Sylvia countered, Noguiera rolled the former champ, sinking a guillotine and pulling half guard forcing Sylvia to tap out.

Result: Antonio Minotauro Noguiera wins by guillotine choke in round three and becomes the new UFC Heavyweight Champion.