Las Vegas, Nevada – Before a sold-out Mandalay Bay Events Centre Saturday night, ‘The Iceman’ retained his UFC light heavyweight crown with a second round KO of Randy Couture, giving him the final 2-1 edge in the trilogy between the light heavyweight greats.  After the bout, Couture, 42, the only fighter in UFC history to win the heavyweight and light heavyweight titles, announced his retirement.

“I’m retiring tonight,” said Couture.  “This is it for me.  I feel blessed to have been able to come in here and compete.”

As for the fight itself, the two circled each other warily, looking for openings as the crowd alternately cheered for their favourite fighter.  Each brief exchange brought a roar, but neither was willing to commit to a sustained attack.  Liddell was the more active of the two though as Couture looked to counter the strikes of ‘The Iceman’.  Couture continued to stalk behind a high guard, and his sporadic strikes seemed to take Liddell out of his rhythm.  Liddell quickly recovered though, rocking Couture briefly with a right to the head.  But as Liddell moved in for the kill, Couture, his nose now bloodied, was able to recover and take the champion to the mat for the remainder of the round.

Couture refused to deviate from his fight plan in the second round, as he followed Liddell around the Octagon while throwing in the occasional counter to Liddell’s heavier shots.  But soon, Couture’s luck ran out, and as he shot in with a left hand, Liddell landed the same short right hand that ended the pair’s second fight, and Couture again crashed limply to the mat.  Liddell’s follow-up shots on the fallen Couture were exclamation marks on the victory, and referee John McCarthy called a stop to the bout at 1:28 of the second stanza.

“We knew Randy was gonna try to make me over commit,” said Liddell.  “But you stand in front of me for that long, eventually one will get through.” 

Couture won the first bout between the two, stopping Liddell in three rounds in 2003.  Liddell knocked Couture out in a single round last April to even the score, with Liddell breaking the tie tonight.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir got a rude welcome back to the UFC after a 20 month absence due to injury, getting stopped in the first round by Brazil’s Marcio Cruz in a stunning upset.

“I’m greatly disappointed,” said Mir, who was sidelined by a motorcycle accident in September of 2004 that broke his leg and forced him to be stripped of his title.  “It was too much time off.  I thought I was ready, but I can’t give up.  Monday, I’ll pick myself up and keep going.”

Brazil’s Renato Sobral cemented his position as the number one challenger for the UFC light heavyweight belt as he submitted veteran Mike Van Arsdale in the first round of a scheduled three round contest.

There was little action in the opening minute, with Sobral punning Van Arsdale against the fence and McCarthy breaking them up.  After another tie-up, both fighters hit the mat and ‘Babalu’ got Van Arsdale’s back.  That was all she wrote, as Sobral sunk in a rear naked choke and Van Arsdale tapped out at 2:21 of round one.

“I’m ready for my title shot,” said the 30-year-old Sobral.

Joe Riggs showed off his impressive boxing skills in the pay-per-view opener, keeping himself in the welterweight title picture with a close unanimous decision over Nick Diaz in an entertaining three round scrap.

Eilers and Vera engaged immediately, with Eilers pushing Vera to the fence after a brief exchange.  One minute into the bout, referee Mario Yamasaki broke the two, and Vera worked effectively with kicks from long range.  The last kick Vera threw, a left high kick on the top of the head, stunned Eilers, and as he started to fall to the canvas, a knee to the head provided the finisher, putting Eilers down and out, face first.

In a light heavyweight bout, Elvis Sinosic put on a courageous performance against heavy-handed Alessio Sakara, but the Italian’s superior striking and ground and pound were too much for him as he lost a lopsided unanimous decision.

Heavyweights Paul Buentello and Gilbert Aldana kept the fans on their feet in their heavyweight bout, swinging for the fences with each shot until Buentello outlasted ‘El Peligroso’, stopping him in the second round.

Jeff Monson made a successful return to the Octagon in a heavyweight prelim bout, defeating Hammer House’s Branden Lee Hinkle with a knockout via arm choke in the first round.

In the opener, a battle between heavyweight cast members of the second season of The Ultimate Fighter reality show, Keith Jardine pounded out a three round unanimous decision over Mike Whitehead that saw both fighters drop to light heavyweight.

Scores were 29-28 across the board.

Following are official scorecard results:

Light Heavyweight Bout

Mike Whitehead vs Keith Jardine
Result: Jardine won by unanimous decision.

Heavyweight Bout

Jeff Monson vs Branden Lee Hinkle
Result: Monson won by TKO at 4:35 of the first round (arm choke).

Heavyweight Bout

Gilbert Aldana vs Paul Buentello
Result: Buentello won by TKO 2:27 of the second round.

Light Heavyweight Bout

Elvis Sinosic vs Alessio Sakara
Result: Sakara won by unanimous decision.

Welterweight Bout

Joseph Riggs vs Nick Diaz
Result: Riggs won by unanimous decision.

Light Heavyweight Bout

Mike Van Arsdale vs Renato Sobral
Result: Sobral won by tapout at 2:21 of the first round (rear naked choke).

Heavyweight Bout

Marcio Cruz vs Frank Mir
Result: Cruz won by TKO at 4:10 of the first round.

Heavyweight Bout

Justin Eilers Vs Brandon Vera
Result: Vera won by KO at 1:25 of the first round.

Light Heavyweight Championship

Randy Couture vs. Chuck Liddell
Result: Liddell won by KO at 1:28 of the second round.