LAS VEGAS -- Who said the UFC had a weak heavyweight division? Less than an hour after Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir electrified the crowd at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira made mixed martial arts history. The Brazilian legend became the first person to ever hold the PRIDE and UFC heavyweight championships when he submitted Tim Sylvia with a guillotine choke at 1:28 of the third round in a gripping battle for the interim crown.

Nogueira (31-4-1), who at 6-foot-3 and 237 pounds gave up five inches and 24 pounds to his foe, got pounded for much of the first two rounds. Sylvia is known as a patient fighter, but he took the standup game to Nogueira from the outset, dropping his opponent several times in the first round and opening a cut under his left eye.

With a sold-out audience that included Jay-Z, Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Undertaker watching, Sylvia continued the onslaught in the second round, opening the cut deeper, as Nogueira tried and mostly failed to take Sylvia down.

The end came abruptly in the third, as Nogueira, on the bottom in a ground exchange, reversed position. Soon thereafter, he got an opening for the choke and sunk it in, forcing his opponent to tap.

 
“He’s a true heavyweight, he’s a giant, a tough guy to fight against, said Nogueira. “When we went to the ground I tried to get an armbar, but instead I got a very nice guillotine.”

Nogueira also asked for a match with Randy Couture, technically still UFC champion, who walked out on his contract last year with two fights remaining.

Sylvia (24-4) was looking to become the second three-time UFC champ in UFC history, along with Couture.  “Every fight, he gets his a— kicked for the first 10 minutes,” said Sylvia. “He comes out fighting, next thing you know he wins. The guy’s a legend in this sport.”