UFC 108: Evans Survives Thiago Silva
UFC 108 opened the promotion’s 2010 schedule on January 2 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Rashad Evans defeated Thiago Silva by unanimous decision, surviving a dangerous late rally after building his lead through wrestling. Paul Daley and Junior dos Santos supplied first-round finishes, while Sam Stout won an engaging lightweight contest against Joe Lauzon. The final ten-bout card gave an event reshaped by injuries a clear sporting identity.
Video: UFC’s contemporary extended preview for Evans vs. Thiago Silva.
A changed card finds its main event
The planned Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira–Cain Velasquez matchup was removed after Nogueira suffered a left-elbow injury. Evans and Silva moved into the headlining position. That change matters when revisiting the event: the heavyweight pairing belonged to the planning stage, while Evans–Silva was the bout that actually closed the show.
Evans was fighting for the first time since losing the light heavyweight championship to Lyoto Machida at UFC 98. Silva had recovered from his own loss to Machida by stopping Keith Jardine at UFC 102. Both were trying to establish a route back toward the division’s leading contenders.
Evans’ wrestling survives Silva’s last-round threat
Evans made his approach clear early, closing distance, working against the fence and repeatedly taking Silva down. Silva could return to his feet, but that did not give him uninterrupted time to settle into a striking rhythm. Evans’ persistence kept resetting the action and made the Brazilian spend much of the fight reacting.
The danger came in round three. Silva hurt Evans with a right hand and followed with more punches, briefly placing a contest Evans had controlled within reach of a dramatic reversal. He also spent time gesturing and encouraging a standing exchange. Evans recovered enough to close distance again and reach the final bell.
The scores were 29–28 for Evans on all three cards. It was a successful return to the win column, with an important caveat: winning the earlier rounds did not remove the risk of being finished late. His wrestling created the lead, while his ability to survive the final surge preserved it.
Daley and dos Santos produce the quick finishes
Daley knocked out Dustin Hazelett at 2:24 of round one. The matchup placed a powerful striker opposite a submission specialist, and Daley prevented the fight from becoming the sort of extended grappling test that might have favored Hazelett. The result followed his stoppage of Martin Kampmann at UFC 103.
There was also a weight issue: Daley weighed 172 pounds, above the welterweight non-title limit, and Hazelett agreed to a 172-pound catchweight. That detail belongs with the finish rather than disappearing behind it. Dos Santos’ heavyweight win came at 2:07 of the first round, when punches stopped Gilbert Yvel and continued the Brazilian’s progress against experienced opponents.
Stout’s decision and Miller’s submission
Stout beat Joe Lauzon by unanimous decision in a fight that demanded both defensive resilience and sustained striking. Lauzon threatened on the ground, but Stout worked his way into the contest and made his standing offense count. It was a longer demonstration of skill than the evening’s quick knockout highlights.
Jim Miller needed less time against Duane Ludwig. His first-round armbar secured another lightweight victory and reinforced the card’s variety: wrestling decided the headliner, boxing power ended two bouts, and submission skill settled this one. Successful fighters were not all following the same route.
Submissions and stoppages shape the preliminaries
Martin Kampmann submitted Jacob Volkmann with a guillotine after an active opening round, recovering from his loss to Daley. Cole Miller defeated Dan Lauzon with an inverted-triangle kimura, using the ground exchange to finish after taking hard shots earlier. Their two televised preliminary bouts demonstrated how quickly a difficult standing moment could become a successful submission sequence.
Mark Munoz stopped Ryan Jensen with ground strikes, Jake Ellenberger finished Mike Pyle early in round two, and Rafaello Oliveira defeated John Gunderson by unanimous decision. Those five preliminary outcomes complete the event’s record and help explain why the final card delivered meaningful action despite the changes that preceded it.
Complete UFC 108 results
Main card
- Rashad Evans def. Thiago Silva — unanimous decision, round 3, 5:00 (29–28 on all three cards).
- Paul Daley def. Dustin Hazelett — KO (punches), round 1, 2:24; 172-pound catchweight.
- Sam Stout def. Joe Lauzon — unanimous decision, round 3, 5:00.
- Jim Miller def. Duane Ludwig — submission (armbar), round 1, 2:31.
- Junior dos Santos def. Gilbert Yvel — TKO (punches), round 1, 2:07.
Preliminary card
- Martin Kampmann def. Jacob Volkmann — submission (guillotine choke), round 1, 4:03.
- Cole Miller def. Dan Lauzon — submission (inverted-triangle kimura), round 1, 3:05.
- Mark Munoz def. Ryan Jensen — TKO (submission to punches), round 1, 2:30.
- Jake Ellenberger def. Mike Pyle — TKO (punches), round 2, 0:22.
- Rafaello Oliveira def. John Gunderson — unanimous decision, round 3, 5:00.
Sources
Article Tags
UFC 108, Rashad Evans, Thiago Silva, Paul Daley, Junior dos Santos, UFC Results
