Written by Scott Swerbinsky

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It was an upset special last night at UFC 86, as Forrest Griffin defeated Quinton "Rampage" Jackson via unanimous decision, just as my cousin boldly predicted in the weeks and days leading into the fight.  Rampage landed a few big shots, but my cousin agreed with the judges in a decision that was deemed as slightly controversial in some corners this morning.  My cuz recaps the main event as well as the rest of the card in today's column. UFC 86 took place in Las Vegas last night. The event wasn't talked about much in the last few weeks and maybe that was due to the fact it was a holiday weekend. I know one thing is for sure, it will be talked about for years to come.

Forrest Griffin is easily one of the most popular fighters ever to step into the octagon. July 5^th 2008 will go down as the date he won his first title. He scored a very impressive victory over Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. The fight went the full five rounds and Forrest claimed a unanimous decision.

Griffin dominated all aspects of the fight. Take away a few big shots that Jackson landed and the fight wouldn't have been close. The key to victory was Griffin's leg kicks. He took away some of Rampage's power by landing hard crisp shots. A few of the kicks buckled the former champion. In the second round Forrest took advantage of Jackson being off balance and the fight went to the ground.

The second round to me won the fight for Forrest. It showed he belonged to be fighting for the title. You could see the hunger in his eyes and the will to win. Jackson had no answer for the ground and pound assault that Griffin was putting on him. No huge shots were landed in the round but they added up.

I had Griffin winning three of the five rounds. He landed more shots, both punches and kicks and was more aggressive. Jackson did land a few bombs and rocked Forrest in the first round.  He couldn't finish the fight however.

People in the UFC talk about how nobody trains harder than Forrest Griffin. It paid off for him as he went from reality show star to the new light heavyweight champion of the world. He is the face of the UFC. People that don't really follow the sport know who he is. I was truly impressed with the way he fought. Forrest Griffin deserves to be champion.

The so called co-feature between Patrick Cote and Ricardo Almeida was to determine who would get the next title shot in the middleweight division. The fight was a dud. I wasn't impressed with either fighter. Patrick Cote won a split decision in what was a pretty boring and uneventful fight. What does he get for his victory? A date with Anderson Silva possibly. Sorry about his luck as Cote will be outclassed and just get destroyed.

A fight I really wanted to see didn't let me down. Josh Koscheck and Chris Lytle did battle for three very bloody rounds. Koscheck dominated and continued to impress me. He scored an easy unanimous win. In the loss Lytle earned a lot of respect from me. He was bloodier than I have ever seen a fighter and he didn't stop fighting or want to quit. Koscheck battered him with a great ground and pound attack. Many cuts were opened up and it looked like a faucet of blood was running from Lytle's face.

Full results:

Forrest Griffin def. Quinton Jackson - Unanimous Decision (48-46, 48-46, 49-46)
Patrick Cote def. Ricardo Almeida - Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Joe Stevenson def. Gleison Tibau - Tapout (Guillotine Choke) 2:57 R2
Josh Koscheck def. Chris Lytle - Unanimous Decision (30-26, 29-27, 30-28)
Tyson Griffin def. Marcus Aurelio - Unanimous Decision (30-27 all)
Gabriel Gonzaga def. Justin McCully - Tapout (Kimura) 1:57 R1
Cole Miller def. Jorge Gurgel - Tapout (Triangle Choke) 4:48 R3
Melvin Guillard def. Dennis Siver - TKO (Strikes) 0:36 R1
Justin Buchholz def. Corey Hill - Tapout (Rear Naked Choke) 3:57 R2

The undercard didn't provide as many highlights as I was expecting but it was pretty good. The main event however lived up to the hype and made me appreciate the sport even more. The beatings that some of these guys take is simply amazing. The fact that they keep coming back for more is what impresses me.

Forrest Griffin is on top of the mixed martial arts world right now and deservedly so. Congratulations to him, he has earned it with hard work and dedication.