Written by Scott Swerbinsky

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The legend of Randy Couture just continued to grow last night, as the 44 year old defended his UFC Heavyweight title last night with a dominating win over challenger Gabriel Gonzaga.  The undercard also failed to disappoint as Georges St. Pierre looked ferocious in manhandling up and comer Josh Koscheck, and setting up a rematch with either Matt Serra or Matt Hughes.  Also included in this column is my cousin's recap of Fightfest from Canton Friday night, where he rubbed elblows with fomer Buckeye Robert Smith, who was covering the event for ESPN.

Last night from the Mandalay Bay is Las Vegas, we might have seen the best fighter in UFC history.  

UFC 74 was titled Respect and every time Randy Couture fights, he earns more and more respect from fight fans everywhere. If anyone doesn't think this guy is amazing, they're simply crazy and don't know anything about competition. 

Randy Couture easily defended his UFC Heavyweight title last night as he dominated Gabriel Gonzaga. Couture just kept up a great pace as he always does and ended the fight in the 3rd round when referee Herb Dean stepped in.  

The beginning of the end was in the middle of round one. Couture secured a takedown and when he drove Gonzaga into the mat, Randy's head collided with Gonzaga's nose splitting it wide opened. The blood started to flow and it never stopped. After the fight, Couture said he heard a crunch when he slammed Gonzaga down. He knew his nose was busted and it would affect the stamina of the challenger. 

Gonzaga earned respect in defeat and he was clearly running out of gas towards the end of round one but didn't stop throwing bombs. He looked to have Randy rocked on a few occasions. Couture's will and determination to be the best just doesn't seem to stop. He just piled up good shots and kept taking the fight to the ground. The fight was stopped when Couture was on top on Gonzaga dropping bomb after bomb after bomb. 

Amazing. There isn't much more to say about a champion that is 44 years olds and actually looks to be getting better then he ever was. 

Georges St. Pierre looked better than ever last night also. This guy to me is the best fighter in the world. He proved it again as he manhandled up and coming superstar Josh Koscheck. The former champion dominated on the feet which was expected. GSP was able to take down the former four time wrestling all-american at will also, which I don't think any UFC fan would have thought was possible.  

St. Pierre looked more focused than ever light night as he easily won a three round decision. After the fight he said that the loss to Matt Serra was the best thing that could have happened to him because it will make him better than he was before. If that's the case, the rest of the welterweight division is in trouble.  

Two lightweight fighters made claim for the number one contender spot last night. Joe "Daddy" Stevenson looked awesome again on his way to a unanimous decision over Kurt Pellegrino. The fight was never in doubt and Stevenson is one more guy who impresses me every time out. 

The other lightweight contender who might be the most exciting fighter in the UFC is Roger Huerta. He manhandled Alberto Crane and forced the referee to stop the fight in the 3rd round. Huerta showed he has awesome submission defense to go along with superior standup as he proved too much for Crane. 

Full results:

Clay Guida def. Marcus Aurelio via split decision

Thales Leites def. Ryan Jensen via Submission (armbar) -- Round 1, 3:47

Frank Mir def. Antoni Hardonk via submission (kimura) -- Round 1, 1:17

Renato Sobral def. David Heath via submission (anaconda choke) -- Round 3, 3:30

Patrick Cote def. Kendall Grove via TKO -- Round 1, 4:45

Joe Stevenson def. Kurt Pellegrino via unanimous decision

Roger Huerta def. Alberto Crane via TKO -- Round 3, 1:50

Georges St. Pierre def. Josh Koscheck via unanimous decision

Randy Couture def. Gabriel Gonzaga via TKO -- Round 3, 1:37 

Another UFC event and one more time that I walk away in awe. Randy Couture is a legend in this sport and the guy is just something to marvel at. Not only is this guy a world class fighter, but the way he prepares himself is just amazing. He wants to compete and be the best, and he just might be the greatest fighter in the history of the UFC. 

Overall, it was a great event again delivered by the UFC. Fast paced action and hard hitting fights. It doesn't get any better than that.

Recap: Fightfest's Night Of The Heavyweights

Friday night at the Canton Civic Center, FightFest put on another amazing mixed martial arts show. I had the pleasure of sitting ringside and got to see the action up close and personal. Corey Fischer and his team at FightFest did an outstanding job of putting the card together and all the fans walked away impressed. 
 
ESPN was there doing a story about former NFL players who are getting into mma. Bobby Jones, from Wadsworth, was on the card and was one the fighters ESPN was looking at for their feature. 
 
Euclid's own and former Ohio State superstar Robert Smith, who works for ESPN, was in the house covering the action for the worldwide leader in sports. I had the honor of meeting him and this guy is one class act. He took a few minutes to talk to me about the story they were doing and I felt like a little kid standing there with him. Being a HUGE Buckeyes fan, it was the highlight of an outstanding night. 
 
Team Instigator, out of Canton, had a pretty sold night themselves. Seven fighters from their camp were in action and they posted five wins and two losses. Terry Blackwell, who corners the fighters for them was just as fun to watch as the guys in the cage. The directions and instructions he yells out are great. You can tell his guys are listening to him and his advice is dead on. The fighters use the advice and then end up getting better position and even ending the fight based on what he tells them. It's just another reason this sport is so great. 
 
Tony Sylvester, a former Ohio State wrestler, is part of Team Instigator and was the main event fight. He stepped in with Matt Eckerle from that state up north. Sylvester simply dominated an overmatched fighter and got the 1st round win via armbar. The heavyweight improved to 10-1 and is looking to get his foot in the door at one of the big shows. 
 
Another Instigagtor fighter, Joe McCall, looked impressive yet again on wis way to a 1st round beatdown of Anthony Ferguson out of Medina. Ferguson tapped out when he had no answers for the punches that McCall was raining down on him. With the win, McCall nows stands at 3-0. 
 
Former New York Giant, Bobby Jones, who was clearly the fighter all the fans wanted to see, didn't let them down. His strength advantage was the difference as he outmuscled Darby Hodge on his way to a 1st round TKO. The ref stepped in when Hodge couldn't defend himself. Although, the fight didn't last long, the crowd went away happy as their hometown hero got the win. 
 
Full results:
 
Shane Sutherland(Sutherland MMA) def. Bart Bender(Independent) :1st rd. KO 
Neal Nutter(Team Sidemount) def. Dave Lama(Precision Fighting) :unanimous decision 
Mike Criswell(Team Apex Predator) def. Ken Mark(Anytime MMA) :2nd rd. Dr. Stoppage 
Kyle Woodruff(Sutherland MMA) def. Alejandro Ortiz(Independent): 2nd rd. heel hook 
Jeff Hughes(Team Instigator) def. Pete Hunter(Team Beatdown): 2nd rd. KO 
Bo Coleman(Team Beatdown) def. Nick Norton(Independent) : 2nd rd. TKO 
Phil Montgomery(Team Apex Predator) def. Kenny Jackson(Team Instigator): Triangle Choke 
Mario Gallo(Team Instigator) def. Fred Cuevas(Team Jose Delgado): 2nd rd. KO 
Charlie Cosens(Sutherland MMA) def. Mike Mason : 1st rd. KO 
Chase Minor(Team Sidemount) def. Jason Davis(Academy of Soo Do Thai): 2nd rd. ref stoppage 
Thad Schlichter(Matthews MMA) def. Terry Smith(Team Instigator): 1st rd. KO 
Brian Hemsley(Team Instigator) def. Josh Miller(Team AUF): 2nd rd. TKO 
Bobby Jones(Team Sidemount) def. Darby Hodge(Matthews MMA): 1st rd. TKO 
 
PROS

Taiwan Howard(Rising Dragon) def. Mark Lesley(Total Jiu-Jitsu) : 1st rd. KO 
Joe McCall(Team Instigator) def. Anthony Ferguson(Team Midknight): 1st KO 
Tony Sylvester(Team Instigator) def. Matt Eckerle(Independent): 1st rd. Armbar 
 
All in all, another great night of fights. If any fight fans out there have yet to see a live mma show, you really are missing out. Seeing the action live is amazing. I love it and can't wait for the next show.