In case you were wondering, Frank Mir was taking on former WWE star Brock Lesnar at UFC 81. Though the Octagon debut of Lesnar seemed to take over the night, fact is that a match between Tim Sylvia and Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira was also on the docket.

Here’s the review Submit To MMA style.

COMEBACK ATTEMPT OF THE NIGHT

Rob Yundt vs. Ricardo Almeida

Rob Yundt took this fight on only three days notice. Ricardo Almeida was coming off of a 3.5 year absence from mixed martial arts. Before the fight, Yundt said, “I’m gonna come out and take his (bleeping) head off.”

Not so. Actually, Almeida secured the takedown rather quickly. Then he sunk in the guillotine. Though Yundt showed his power by lifting Almeida into the air and slamming him down, all that did was serve to flip the two fighters over. In other words, now Almeida was on top with the guillotine.

A great BJJ show by a great BJJ practitioner. Almeida’s back, folks!

Almeida takes it home via guillotine choke at 1:08 of round one.

TECHNICAL FIGHT OF THE NIGHT

Jeremy Horn vs. Nathan Marquardt

Before his bout against the amazing Jeremy Horn, Nathan Marquardt said, “I’m gonna be aggressive. I’m gonna hurt Jeremy, and I’m gonna win this fight.”

Every now and then, someone comes through with a promise. In the first, Marquardt was aggressive, landing a great elbow that dizzied his opponent and securing a takedown that scored him some significant ground and pound points. However, toward the end of the round Jeremy Horn nearly secured a gogoplata and then omoplata on his opponent, before turning him over on the ground.

So when Horn took Marquardt down in the second round and cut him, you had to think the tides were turning.

Not so.

Rather, Marquardt got to his feet and then secured a vicious standing guillotine, forcing a man not used to tapping much to tap. That’s two submission losses in a row for Jeremy Horn, something that you probably never figured you’d hear.

Which is why this ending was so impressive. A nice technical match up.

Nathan Marquardt via guillotine choke at 1:37 of the second round.

VICTORIOUS DEBUT OF THE NIGHT

Tim Boetsch vs. David Heath

Tim Boetsch made some waves with his Octagon debut. Namely, he came out and destroyed a strong fighter in David Heath with unorthodox strikes, such as front kicks, as well as several well- placed knees and punches.

But the most amazing part of this bout was the takedown that led to Boetsch’s TKO victory. Namely, he simply threw Heath to the ground like a “rag doll,” according to Joe Rogan. Then he pounded on him until the referee had absolutely no choice but to step in.

Afterwards, Joe Rogan said, “Tim Boetsch is a beast.” Not true.

He’s “The Barbarian”.

Tim Boetsch wins via TKO at 4:52 of round one.

THE ONE YOU WANT TO HEAR ABOUT

Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir

Former WWE star Brock Lesnar wanted a big fight. Well, be careful what you wish for.

You see, the UFC decided to give him Frank Mir, a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and all around outstanding Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fighter. The fight started out bad for Mir. Namely, he was taken down easily and then the pounding started. It was no accident, either, as after a back of the head punch by Lesnar that cost him a point the two were brought to their feet again.

However, soon after that Mir slipped a little with a kick and Lesnar landed a punch, sending Mir back to the ground. The pounding he took was rough, and the wear on his face was evident afterwards. But Lesnar made that one mistake, borne of a lack of experience. He left his leg out there.

And the former UFC Heavyweight Champion responded.

Frank Mir wins via kneebar at 1:30 of round one. But don’t count Brock Lesnar out. This guy has the wrestling, power, and heart to become a great MMA fighter one day. But he needs time, and giving him Mir in his Octagon debut was like throwing him to the wolves.

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Tim Sylvia

Before the bout, Tim Sylvia said the following: “(If) I go out there and win— like I know I’m going to— everyone’s like ‘wow’, Tim Sylvia did it again. He’s a true champion; he’s a three time UFC Heavyweight Champion.”

But the question of course was, would Sylvia’s words prove true or false?

This fight started out rough for Nogueira. Namely a Sylvia left hook and then hard right hand floored him in the initial stanza. From there, the ground and pound assault was pretty vicious. Nogueira clearly had trouble with the big man’s reach.

Though Nogueira secured a takedown at the end of the stanza, that didn’t matter. Sylvia won the round big time. Only Big Nog’s legendary toughness got him through.

The second round was pretty close. But let’s skip it. After all, the stuff you need to know happened in the next stanza.

Simply put, Nogueira brought Sylvia into his guard purposefully in that final stanza. From there, he grabbed a leg and used it to his advantage to turn Sylvia over. Not a good position to be in with Big Nog.

And soon after, Nogueira sunk in the guillotine choke for a victory.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira wins via guillotine choke at 1:28 of round three.

THE REST

Rob Emerson (155) def. Keita Nakamura (155) via split decision

Marvin Eastman (185) def. Terry Martin (186) via unanimous decision

Tyson Griffin (155) def. Gleison Tibau (156) via unanimous decision

Lyoto Machida Biography and Fighting Information