UFC 86: Griffin Takes Rampage’s Crown After Five Hard Rounds
On July 5, 2008, Forrest Griffin defeated Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 86 to win the light heavyweight championship. Their five-round main event at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas ended with a unanimous decision, putting the belt in Griffin’s hands.
Griffin wins the championship verdict
The headliner required all twenty-five minutes before the judges confirmed the change of champion. Griffin’s victory was the card’s central result, but it was also part of an evening where decisions and submissions did most of the work. Four of the nine bouts went the distance.
Patrick Côté defeated Ricardo Almeida by split decision in the middleweight co-main event. Josh Koscheck beat Chris Lytle by unanimous decision, and Tyson Griffin earned another unanimous verdict against Marcus Aurelio. Those three-round contests supplied a different scale of test from the championship main event.
Stevenson, Gonzaga and Miller find submissions
Joe Stevenson submitted Gleison Tibau with a guillotine choke at 2:57 of round two. Gabriel Gonzaga caught Justin McCully with a kimura at 1:57 of the first round. Cole Miller submitted Jorge Gurgel with a triangle choke at 4:48 of round three, finding his finish with only twelve seconds remaining.
Melvin Guillard stopped Dennis Siver with punches in thirty-six seconds, the night’s quickest result. Justin Buchholz submitted Corey Hill with a rear-naked choke at 3:57 of round two.
Griffin’s title win gave the event its lasting headline. Beneath it, four submissions and Guillard’s rapid TKO completed a card with several very different routes to victory.
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UFC 86, Forrest Griffin, Quinton Jackson, Patrick Cote, Joe Stevenson, MMA history
