It was billed as the biggest card of the year. Forrest Griffin versus Rashad Evans, Rodrigo Minotauro Nogueira versus Frank Mir and Quinton Jackson versus Wanderlei Silva completed what was an awesome night of MMA.

Honestly, I’m shocked. We weren’t meant to see two new champions, not when you consider that those holding the belts were Nogueira and Griffin. So, when half of the MMA world wakes up on this Sunday morning and realises that Frank Mir and Rashad Evans put their names in lights last night, then you can imagine how shocked they’ll be.

Unfortunately, shocked could be too strong of a word. After all, Rashad Evans is on one hell of a roll at the minute. After defeating Griffin, Liddell, Bisping and more, Evans is the cream of the unbelievably stacked light-heavyweight division. Personally, I’m not sold on Evans being the best light-heavyweight in the UFC. Neither will Quinton Jackson, who will no doubt believe he should be next in line to face the new champion.

How will the likes of Chuck Liddell, Keith Jardine and Mauricio Rua look at that division now? Are Lyoto Machida and Thiago Silva still destined to become champion one day?

One person who has always been destined to be champion one day is Frank Mir. He’s sort of been the darling of the UFC for the last two years. The hilarious thing is, as many have pointed out, his whole highlight reel consists of Tim Sylvia and an arm breaking. Okay, let’s throw the night he made Brock Lesnar tap in there as well.

Many people asked me – who will be the UFC Heavyweight Champion when this mini-tournament is done? My answer remained consistent; I had no doubt that it would be Minotauro Nogueira. Actually, I praised Nogueira to the point where I said he was the only guy who would take Fedor a full five rounds. I might have been sold on the guy, but I was not alone – I couldn’t find one person who believed Frank Mir would win last night.

So, when Frank Mir landed a number of huge punches on the Interim champion, he was almost knocking out the critics. Well done Frank – you can now add Nogueria to that highlight reel.

Now we’re going to get a small dose of déjà vu. Frank Mir will take on Brock Lesnar for the Undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion. In their previous fight, an inexperienced Lesnar destroyed Mir, only to fall into Mir’s guard and tap to a foot lock submission. Second time round, it won’t be so easy for Mir and you can bet that it won’t be as easy for Lesnar either.

Whatever happens, Frank Mir will know that if he can defeat Nogueira inside three rounds then he has a shot at beating Brock Lesnar.

Yushin Okami may have been relegated to the undercard, but he continued to show Dana White and the UFC why he is the only Middleweight in the world who could potentially defeat Anderson Silva. Let’s not forget, he has already done it once.

With Thales Leites rumoured to be next in line to Silva, Okami will be looking to face the winner. It’s the sort of decision that has had many fans of the UFC up in arms. Yushin Okami should be facing Anderson Silva now, not next year. While Thales Leites is a great fighter, the fight with Silva screams Silva/Cote 2 at many fans – it’s going to be a fight Anderson Silva should have no problem winning.

Quinton Jackson certainly had no problem winning against his long time nemesis Wanderlei Silva. In their third fight, Jackson showed all the skill to suggest that he is back to his best. It’s interesting to see where Jackson will go from here – will he take on the new champion Rashad Evans?

I’m sure I was not alone in feeling a slight sense of disappointment with Wanderlei Silva and his performance last night. There is a lot about Silva that suggests his chin might have gone and after the number of wars he has been involved in, it certainly doesn’t come as a surprise.

The sad thing is, I believe Silva could be on the same path as Matt Hughes, Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz. One more defeat and they could be banished to the basement of MMA cards. All are legends in their own right, but one defeat for any of the above and you have to wonder how credible their legacy will continue to be.

You also have to credit the Wolfslair gym with getting Jackson back to a normal lifestyle after the chaos during and after his title loss to Forrest Griffin. His Wolfslair team-mate Cheick Kongo has also benefitted from the gym, with his fantastic ground and pound victory over Mustafa Al-Turk.

It was the “Ultimate 2008″ card according to the UFC. They didn’t go far wrong. We had some awesome knockouts, great submissions and just a few shocks. I tried to compare the night to when Serra defeated George St-Pierre. That, for me, remains the biggest shock in UFC history, but I honestly believe Frank Mir over Nogueria is up there with the top five.

2009 is going to be a fantastic year for MMA. With the UFC expanding more and more over the last eighteen months and with MMA in general becoming a well received sport around the world, you can expect another great year next year. UFC 92 ended the year superbly – let’s hope that 2009 follows suit. An awesome night to reward a number of fantastic performances.

Martin Smith
martin@ifight365.com