By Mark Vester
The UFC 67, live from the Mandlay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada, saw new faces debut to set up future key bouts down the line.
Anderson Silva vs. Travis Lutter - In the main event, Anderson Silva came out on top to make Lutter tap in the second round.
The first round saw Lutter take Silva down to the ground twice, and connected with several punches from the mount. Silva was able to get out of danger when he broke away from an armbar attempt by Lutter.
The second saw Lutter take Silva down again. Silva snuck in a triangle, and Lutter was not able to break the hold. Once he was able to trap the head of Lutter, Silva began to unload elbows until Lutter tapped out.
Mirko Cro Cop vs. Eddie Sanchez - In a dominating debut, Cro Cop landed one of his trademark kicks, a few punches from the top and finished off Sanchez with punches on the ground to get the stoppage in the first round.
In the story of the night, Cro Cop came out to the Pride theme song. There have been conspiracy theories that UFC is working together with Pride, or may even be on the verge of buying Pride, their biggest competitor.
Overall, the UFC fans exploded for Cro Cop.
Roger Huerta vs. John Halverson - In a bit of a controversial ending, Huerta blasted Halverson out with a knee to the shoulder, but the knee also partially hit his head. Under UFC rules, a knee to the head is illegal. Halverson was out on the mat as Huerta began to beat on him with punches as the fight was over in 19 seconds.
Quinton Jackson vs. Marvin Eastman. The first round was slow. Jackson landed a hard punch at the end that stunned Eastman, but he couldnt finish him.
The second round round saw more of a feeling out process that was broken up when Jackson landed a combination of punches at close range to send Eastman down. Jackson began to unload from the ground when the ref jumped in to stop the fight.
Jackson was very over with the crowd and the UFC is slowly building towards a Jackson-Chuck Liddell rematch.
Scott Smith vs. Patrick Cote - Cote wins a unanimous decision in a snoozer. All three judges had it 30-27.
Terry Martin vs. Jorge Rivera - Martin knocked out Rivera in 14 seconds of the first round.
Lyoto Machida vs. Sam Hoger - Machido easily beat Hoger by decision. All three judges had it 30-27. Machinda scored five knockdowns, three in round one and two in the second.
Frankie Edgar vs. Tyson Griffin - In an upset, Edgar defeated Griffin by unanimous decision after a near dominating performance. The scores were 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.
Dustin Hazelett vs. Diego Saraiva - Hazelett won a unanimous decision. All three judges scored it 30-27.
