In a match that most thought would come down to the ground game, Nelson was battered and bruised on the feet by Werdum almost the entire fight. He did however also mention on twitter today, “was never rocked, Hurt him a couple of times just didn’t capitalize & mat was a little slippery that why I need the blood to stick.”

Below you will see the pic that was caused by the Werdum knee.

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UFC President Dana White simply said “it’s on” in reference to the grudge match stating that it will take place in Silva’s backyard in a soccer stadium in June.

Sonnen and Silva first met up in a middleweight championship bout at UFC 117 where the gangsta from the streets of West Linn, Oregon came within a few minutes of dethroning the long-time ruler at 185-pounds.

A string of twists and turns have kept the two top-ranked middleweights apart up until this point with Silva being sidelined with a shoulder injury following his successful title defense against Yushin Okami in Brazil.

Meanwhile, Sonnen stamped his ticket to face Silva last week when he defeated Michael Bisping in the co-main event slot of the UFC’s second venture onto the FOX network.

Stay tuned to MMASucka.com for more news as this story develops but it seems we’re all going to get the fight we’ve wanted for the better part of two years now.

Fight of the night was awarded to the heavyweight co-main event between returning submission grappling champion Fabricio Werdum putting a beatdown on Roy Nelson showing off what he can do on the feet.

Submission of the  night was given to Dustin Poirier who submitted UFC newcomer Max Hollaway with a mounted triangle armbar in something that looked out of a video game.

And finally Stephen Thompson pushed his perfect MMA record to 6-0 with a stunning headkick on fellow debutant Dan Stittgen.

Carlos Condit became the second person to wear an interim UFC welterweight title tonight with his controversial defeat of Nick Diaz. The top-ranked welterweight combatants had top billing tonight with the winner unifying both titles with GSP.

Condit and Diaz battled it out for 25 minutes in a back-and-forth seesaw affair with Condit showing no signs of slowing the entire fight and troubling Diaz with his leg kicks repeatedly.

Greg Jackson devised the perfect game plan to beating a guy like Diaz and that’s exactly what he did, winning by one round on most score cards Condit  just got by the 209-native but he wasn’t impressed about it.

Diaz post-fight speaking with Joe Rogan claimed that he was done with mixed martial arts, opting to retire from the sport.

Stream courtesy of UFC.com

Returning on a loss he had to impresss the bosses in the company and he did so, Werdum showed that he has taken huge strides in his striking department troubling “Big Country” with brutal knees.

Werdum controlled most of the fight being able to land early and often, an average person would have gone to sleep with some of the punishment he took but Roy took it all and then some.

Here’s what the Brazilian said about his octagon return:

“Roy is very tough and can endure a lot of beating, but I found his weak spots. This fight was important to me.  I trained hard every day for this fight.  I had a good strategy going into the fight but the main thing for me was to come out with a victory.  I want to fight in Brazil next.”

And here’s what Nelson had to say:

“I never really dwell on losses. I think it makes you a better fighter depending on how you look at it. Yeah it sucks, but I’ll get back in the gym and get better.”

The former title challenger was troubled by the advanced striking abilities and damage he did in the thai-clinch but he was able to overcome the odds and take home a decision.

Koscheck was constantly looking for the knockout punch on the durable Pierce but wasn’t able to put him away.

Here’s what the top-heel in the company had to say post-fight:

“I went out there and put a beating on him. He did bring some good, not great, tools to the table. He is an ok wrestler.  I knew he was a tough kid going into the fight. I didn’t have the urge to fight him but I’m down for a challenge and I found a way to win.  It feels good to get back in the octagon and gain more experience. It wasn’t my best performance, but it wasn’t my worst.  I’m ready for my next challenge now. I may talk a lot but I can back it up.”

Here’s what Pierce had to say about the controversial defeat:

“Josh is a tough guy.  I’m disappointed.  I came at him and tried to put the pressure on and get inside his head.  It was an extremely close fight.”

Barao faced  his toughest challenge to date against former title-challenger Scott Jorgensen and passed the test with flying colours.

Barao used his length and leg kicks to control the entire fight, the Brazilian bomber hit Jorgensen with some really heavy shots but wasn’t able to put him away.

He showed that his stamina needs a little work slowing down dramatically in the latter portions of the fight but all in all, Barao proved that he is the top of the line ar 135-pounds.

Here’s what he had to say post-fight:

“I have worked very hard and this feels great. I was ready for this moment. The title is my goal. I train every day and I’m ready for it. ”

Barao had this to say following their battle:

“Barao’s a tough guy, he’s a very well-rounded fighter. I had no sense of urgency and I felt too comfortable in there.  It’s a tough loss.”