UFC 68: Randy Couture Returns to Dethrone Tim Sylvia
UFC 68: The Uprising brought the Octagon to Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, on March 3, 2007. Randy Couture returned from retirement to challenge Tim Sylvia for the heavyweight championship and won every round on all three judges’ scorecards. Rich Franklin and Matt Hughes also earned victories as they worked back from losing their respective titles.
Couture’s comeback starts with a knockdown
Couture was 43, had been away for more than a year and was considerably smaller than Sylvia. Those circumstances made the championship challenge seem daunting. Within the opening seconds, however, an overhand right dropped the champion and changed the atmosphere of the fight. Couture followed into grappling exchanges and established that he could threaten Sylvia in more than one phase.
The opening punch was only the beginning. Couture mixed effective boxing with clinch work, takedowns and top control across five rounds. Sylvia survived the early danger but could not establish a sustained answer to the challenger’s pressure. The judges returned three identical 50–45 scores, giving Couture his third UFC heavyweight championship.
This was a title-winning performance rather than a defense by Couture, and it ended in a decision rather than a third-round stoppage. Its appeal came from sustained success against expectations: the veteran did not merely land a fortunate punch, but continued solving the matchup for the full twenty-five minutes.
Franklin and Hughes return to winning form
Franklin faced Jason MacDonald in a non-title middleweight bout. He fought through grappling exchanges and inflicted heavy damage from dominant ground positions in the second round. MacDonald’s corner stopped the fight between rounds, making Franklin the winner by TKO at the end of round two.
Hughes met Chris Lytle at welterweight, also without a championship at stake. His takedowns and positional work carried him to a unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring it 30–27. Lytle defended submission attempts and stayed in the contest, but Hughes consistently put him in positions that limited his offense.
Lambert and Kampmann turn danger into victory
Jason Lambert defeated Renato Sobral by knockout in round two of their light heavyweight fight. Sobral had threatened on the ground early, but Lambert escaped, found success with punches and ultimately landed the decisive counter. The result gave the supporting card another example of a fighter changing the course of a difficult matchup.
Martin Kampmann also had to recover under pressure against Drew McFedries. After absorbing damaging punches, he used a takedown to move the middleweight contest into his own stronger position and finished with an arm-triangle choke in round one. The preliminary card added wins for Matt Hamill, Jon Fitch, Gleison Tibau and Jamie Varner.
Complete UFC 68 results
Randy Couture defeated Tim Sylvia by unanimous decision, winning the heavyweight title. Martin Kampmann defeated Drew McFedries by submission (arm-triangle choke), round 1, 4:06. Rich Franklin defeated Jason MacDonald by TKO (corner stoppage), round 2, 5:00. Matt Hughes defeated Chris Lytle by unanimous decision. Jason Lambert defeated Renato Sobral by KO (punch), round 2, 3:26.
Matt Hamill defeated Rex Holman by TKO (punches), round 1, 4:00. Jon Fitch defeated Luigi Fioravanti by submission (rear-naked choke), round 2, 3:05. Gleison Tibau defeated Jason Dent by unanimous decision. Jamie Varner defeated Jason Gilliam by submission (rear-naked choke), round 1, 1:34.
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UFC 68, Randy Couture, Tim Sylvia, Heavyweight Championship, UFC Results
