Jens Pulver KO'd John Lewis with a left hook in 35 seconds. Lewis' weakness played right into Pulver's killer left hand. Pulver knew Lewis' jab was lazy and left him vulnerable, and it didn't take him long for him to capitilize on it. Lewis came out jabbing, and Pulver threw a right so Lewis would sidestep and walk right into his left hand over the top of Lewis' jab arm. The first time Lewis sidestepped enough that Pulver missed to the right, so instead of noticing he almost got his block knocked off, Lewis goes right back to the same thing. This time Pulver just came over the top with the left, and Lewis was seeing stars. Lewis should beat Pulver because he's got more all around ability, but he was so confident in his boxing that he got Pulverized.

Round 1 0:35

Andrei Orlovskiy vs. Aaron Brink

Andrei Orlovskiy made Aaron Brink submit to a reverse arm bar at 0:55 of round 1. Orlovskiy tripped Brink up into the fence when he tried to take him down. Brink almost got an immediate reversal because the fence pretty much prevented Orlovskiy from getting control of Brink's left side. It didn't matter because Orlovskiy made a great move turning around Brink's body and locking in a reverse armbar. Orlovskiy should become the best Russian UFC has had because he isn't just a sambo guy, he's got a strong kickboxing background and cross trains in the other areas.

Round 1 0:55

Josh Barnett beat Gan McGee via ref stop from mount punches at 4:34 of round 2. McGee is huge. Barnett is 6'3", 257, yet he gave up 7 inches and 39 pounds. McGee's problem is his stamina doesn't cut it. Barnett looks like a bar room brawler, and although he got more active in round 2, he wasn't exactly evoking memories of Frank Shamrock when it came to a moving guard or anything else. Still, he was able to blow McGee up in 6 minutes and get him to near collapse in 9.

McGee fought his fight as long as his stamina held out, keeping Barnett close in standup so he couldn't strike and taking him down when he could. He did some effective elbows in round 1, which he won easily.

A little ways into round 2, McGee was barely able to muster enough energy to control Barnett. Soon, McGee went for broke hoping he had just enough left to take Barnett down, which if he was smart would allow him to get some rest. He wasn't able to do it though, and that resulted in a mental and physical defeat. Barnett seized the opportunity, continually upgrading his position until he had mounted McGee. Barnett threw several punches, bloodying McGee's nose. They weren't going to knock McGee out or anything, but McGee was too tired to defend himself so McCarthy had to stop it. Barnett seems to be a guy that doesn't look like he'd be much, but find a way to win. McGee is a project, he's got the size to become a dominant fighter, but until he adds to the tank all bets are off.

Round 2 4:34

Mark Hughes vs. Alex Steibling

Mark Hughes won a unanimous decision over Alex Stiebling after 10:00. Stiebling's advantage was in submissions, but after the first minute he never even came close. Hughes would take him down and control position the rest of the round. He was overly aggressive early, which is where Steibling had a chance to hook him, but once he settled in he was very efficient. Hughes was also very predictable, takedown and ground and pound is basically all he does, but he's got such wrestling ability and power that he's going to have his way with most opponents anyway. He would already be a real force if he was doing this full time like brother Matt.

10:00

Renato Babalu vs. Maurice Smith

Renato Babalu somehow only beat Maurice Smith by majority decision after 15:00. Babalu controlled the entire fight. He took Smith down at will, and Smith wasn't able to get off his back except in instances when Babalu willingly let him do so. Smith couldn't get anything going in standup either. He was too cautious both in standup and on the mat. He only tried single punches, and didn't have the quickness to get his leg back when he kicked. He used a closed guard the whole time, which really gave him no opportunity for offense on the mat aside from some weak punches. Smith's defense was typically superb, but when you essentially have no offense the entire fight, you lose even if when your opponent does no real damage.

Although Babalu didn't hurt Smith, he was impressive because he handled him in every aspect of the fight. He had a whole lot of confidence in his ability, and although things like letting Smith up seemed silly at the time, he proved the confidence was warranted.

15:00

UFC Heavyweight Championship Match: Kevin Randleman vs. Randy Couture

Randy Couture recaptured the UFC Heavyweight Title that he never really lost (he vacated), defeating Kevin Randleman via ref stop from a flurry of mount punches at 4:13 of round 3. Randleman beat himself here. Randleman looked great in standup when he had distance, as he was able to deliver some nasty combinations of punches. He also could take down the Sydney Olympic alternate at will because Couture couldn't handle his quickness and power. The problem was, he didn't seem to realize his own advantages. Instead of disengaging when things stalled, which was anytime he got in close and Couture started clinching to control his upper body or getting up when he was really getting nowhere doing ground and pound while in Couture's guard, he just played into Couture's hands. I mean, he'd rock Couture with 3 punches, but then Couture would grab him and get Randleman to try to bull him forward. Even if it worked for Randleman, which it didn't, Randleman would have just had Couture against the fence where he couldn't come close to being as effective in striking as he was when they weren't holding each other.

Randleman won the first two rounds easily, but it's like he wants to prove he can beat his opponent at their own game rather than just doing his thing and totally dominating them. Randleman could have taken Couture down all night if he kept coming in, and Couture could not have returned the favor. However, since Randleman was stupid enough to engage in a hugging match, Couture eventually tripped him up.

Randleman apparently assumed he'd go through his entire career without being taken down or reversed because his "guard" was a joke. I mean, it brought back memories of the earliest UFC's when most of the guys didn't even know what a guard was and had no idea what to do when someone was on top of them. Couture could have passed his guard in a second, but I think seeing what he wasn't up against, didn't even bother doing so right away because he could tell the opportunity would be there whenever he wanted it. Couture punched away, cutting Randleman on the bridge of the nose, and passed the guard when he tried to. Couture's punches weren't that great, but Randleman didn't know how to defend himself so it was basically a turtle on his back situation. If Randleman had half a clue he could have held on until the end of the round and probably still won the fight. Since he didn't and wasn't doing anything to defend himself, McCarthy had to stop it.

Round 3 4:13