UFC 81: Nogueira Grabs Gold as Mir Spoils Lesnar’s Arrival
On February 2, 2008, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira submitted Tim Sylvia to win the interim heavyweight championship at UFC 81: Breaking Point in Las Vegas. The Mandalay Bay Events Center card also saw Frank Mir submit Brock Lesnar, putting heavyweight grappling at the center of the evening’s two leading attractions.
Two heavyweight submissions settle the headlines
Nogueira’s guillotine choke ended the championship contest at 1:28 of round three. Mir’s victory came much earlier: he caught Lesnar with a kneebar at 1:30 of the opening round. The two submission finishes rewarded different attacks, one targeting the neck and the other the leg.
Both results gave the event a clear heavyweight identity. Nogueira left with an interim belt, while Mir added a prominent first-round victory. Their finishes also matched a wider pattern on the card, which included two more successful guillotine chokes.
Marquardt, Almeida and the remaining winners
Nate Marquardt submitted Jeremy Horn with a guillotine at 1:37 of round two. Ricardo Almeida used the same choke against Rob Yundt at 1:08 of the first. Chris Lytle stopped Kyle Bradley with punches in thirty-three seconds.
Tim Boetsch defeated David Heath by first-round TKO from a slam and punches at 4:52. Tyson Griffin defeated Gleison Tibau by unanimous decision, and Marvin Eastman won unanimously against Terry Martin. Robert Emerson took a split decision over Keita Nakamura.
Four submissions, two TKOs and three decisions completed the nine-fight card. The headline bouts supplied the heavyweight drama, with the supporting action adding quick finishes and full-distance tests.
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UFC 81, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Tim Sylvia, Frank Mir, Brock Lesnar, MMA history
