Written by Scott Swerbinsky

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Last night in Columbus, Ohio at UFC 82 Anderson Silva left no doubt who the best middleweight fighter in the world is. He also cemented his position atop the pound for pound rankings.  Silva choked out Dan Henderson in the second round, and my cousin was cageside to see it ... and says that Silva is simply unbeatable right now.  He recaps the main event and the rest of the card for us in his latest. Last night in Columbus, Ohio at UFC 82 Anderson Silva left no doubt who the best middleweight fighter in the world is. He also cemented his position atop the pound for pound rankings.

Coming into last night's fight I thought that Dan Henderson had a very good chance to beat Anderson Silva because of his fantastic wrestling background. He was able to win the first round when he took Silva down and landed some good shots. After about two minutes of feeling each other out, the fight went to the ground and it looked like Henderson might be able to keep Silva down and hurt him. Silva was never really in trouble and Henderson never came close to a finish. The bell ended round one.

The second round started with both fighters looking very fresh still. The look in Silva's eyes set the tone for what was about to happen. He looks more focused than any other fighter I have ever seen fight in the UFC. He came out throwing punches and kicks with very violent intentions. He landed some clean shots that Henderson couldn't answer. The fight went to the ground where Henderson wanted to be. Silva then showed why he is the most complete fighter in the world. He took control from the top landing shots and forced Henderson to give up his back. It was just a matter of time until he sunk in the choke and turned Henderson's lights out. The former Pride champ was forced to tap at 4:52 of the second round.

Silva is unbeatable. He is so well rounded that it is scary. Who will he fight next? Nobody really knows yet, but whoever it is, they are in for a rude awakening.

The undercard was loaded with talent and actually did not live up to lofty expectations.

Evan Tanner made a comeback after a two year layoff and looked very bad. Yushin Okami knocked him silly in round two and picked up the 2^nd round KO.

The Chris Leban vs Allesio Sakara fight provided the fans at Nationwide Arena a much needed pick me up with their action packed fight. It was by far the best fight of the night and Leban pounded Sakara into a first round TKO.

Josh Koscheck looked improved yet again on his way to a second round TKO victory over Ohio fighter Dustin Hazelett.  He dominated the entire fight both standing and on the ground. It was his last fight on his current UFC contract. Look for him to get resigned very soon.

Full results:

 Anderson Silva def. Dan Henderson via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 2, 4:52

Heath Herring def. Cheick Kongo via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Chris Leben def. Alessio Sakara via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 3:36

Yushin Okami def. Evan Tanner via KO (knee) - Round 2, 3:00

Jon Fitch def. Chris Wilson via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

Andrei Arlovski def. Jake O'Brien via TKO (strikes) - Round 2, 4:17

Luigi Fioravanti def. Luke Cummo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Josh Koscheck def. Dustin Hazelett via TKO (strikes) - Round 2, 1:24

Diego Sanchez def. David Bielkheden via submission (strikes) - Round 1, 4:42

Jorge Gurgel def. John Halverson via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

All in all, a very good night of fights. Anderson Silva put on a show and the crowd was as loud as I have heard in a long time. It was a fantastic night to take in a live event. It doesn't get any better than seeing the UFC in person and up close.

On a personal note, the true highlight was having the pleasure of meeting two members of our United States Navy. I heard some interesting stories and now have two new friends. To Scott and John, thanks for everything you do to keep us free.