Silva retains title at UFC 82

Recaps of the entire card from UFC 82 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Saturday.

UFC middleweight title: Anderson Silva defeats Dan Henderson, submission, 4:52 of the second round.

First round: Crowd cheered Henderson wildly. Silva got a loud but mixed reaction. Most were giving him a standing ovation. USA chant for Henderson. Nothing happened in the first minute causing some boos. Henderson connected with a right. Silva with a low kick and a high kick. Silva with another high kick to the face. Henderson shrugged it off. Henderson blocked another high kick. Henderson with a bodylock and takedown. Henderson with a few hammer punches to the side of the head. No serious damage in the blows but they are the only offense. A hard elbow by Henderson. Henderson kept throwing hammer blows while caught in half-guard. Henderson got side control and threw elbows. Silva regained guard and held Henderson in a body triangle. Henderson's round 10-9.

Second round: Silva connected with a hard kick. Henderson tried a takedown but Silva got on top. Henderson back to his feet. Henderson grabbed a body lock. The two were trading punches. A hard knee by Silva. More trading. Henderson is down. Silva on top scored with an elbow. Silva throwing good body blows while on top. Silva got Henderson's back. Henderson tried an elbow block. Silva throwing punches to the side of the head. Henderson spun around and Silva threw elbows. More punches and elbows to the side of Henderson's head. Henderson is in trouble as Silva went for a choke with time running out in the round. He clamped it on fully and Henderson had no choice but to tap out in 4:52 of round two. -Dave Meltzer

Heavyweights: Heath Herring (28-13, 1 NC) def. Cheick Kongo (11-4-1), split decision
Judges' scores: 29-28 Herring, 29-28 Kongo, 29-28 Herring
Y! Sports scores: Dave Doyle and Dave Meltzer both scored it 29-28 Herring.
Key moment/Turning point: Herring hit Kongo with a jarring series of knees to the ribs and obliques in the second round while working from side control.
Analysis: A strangely compelling fight that featured highlight-reel action mixed in with frustrating stretches of inactivity on the ground. Herring came out in the first round and dropped Kongo with a right at the outset, but Kongo neutralized Herring on the ground for much of the rest of the round en route to winning the round. It was more of the same to start the second round, as Kongo, who has strong striking skills and great power but no ground game, couldn’t do anything with his advantage on the ground. Herring drilled a standing Kongo with a nasty upkick. The next time they hit the ground, Herring gained side control and launched his nasty series of knees. Kongo got Herring in a rear naked choke early in the second round, but Herring took control, downed Kongo, and worked him over on the mat for the rest of the fight. It was the most impressive win of Herring’s UFC tenure, as he rebounded from a loss to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 73. Kongo has hit a plateau and clearly needs to develop ground skills if he is going to become a legitimate title contender. -Dave Doyle

Middleweights: Chris Leben (18-4) def. Alessio Sakara (16-7, 1 no contest)
How: TKO, 3:16 of the first round.
Key moment/turning point: The entire match was a slugfest, with Sakara's more disciplined striking connecting more than Leben's wild swinging. Sakara had rocked Leben with a punch when Leben responded with the left that crumpled Sakara.
Analysis: This match was put on the main card with the idea it would be a slugfest between a boxer and a slugger. It delivered, with it being the second best match on the show thus far (behind Koscheck-Hazelett). Both men were throwing and kicking from start-to-finish. Sakara was getting the better of it, to the point Leben once went for a takedown. Leben, with a reputation for having an iron jaw, was stunned a few times in the short fight. -DM

Middleweights: Yushin Okami (20-4) def. Evan Tanner (32-7)
Finish: Knockout (Knee), 3:00 of round two
Key moment/Turning point: Locked up in a Muay Thai clinch along the fence, Okami scored a knee to the forehead that ended the fight.
Analysis: Everyone knows Yushin Okami’s game by now. The Kanagawa, Japan, native plays a patient game and waits for his opportunity. He executed that game plan to perfection against Tanner, the returning former UFC middleweight champ. Tanner, fighting for the first time in nearly two years, wasn’t able to do anything in the first round and was visibly frustrated in the second, before Okami scored the KO. Okami is now 6-1 in the UFC, with his only loss a decision to former champ Rich Frankin. -DD

Between matches, newly minted UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman was interviewed. Coleman claimed he isn't retired and issued a challenge to UFC newcomer Brock Lesnar. UFC doesn't air such interviews for no reason. Coleman is expected to face Lesnar in August at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Coleman’s last match was a loss to Fedor Emelianenko on a PRIDE show in Las Vegas in October 2006.

Among those shown on the big screen, UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra was all but booed out of the building; WWE wrestler Dave Bautista was booed; and WEC featherweight champ Urijah Faber got a huge ovation from the crowd. -DD

Welterweights: Jon Fitch (21-2, one no contest) def. Chris Wilson (12-4, one no contest), unanimous decision
Judges’ scores: 30-27, 29-28, 30-27
Yahoo! Sports score: 29-28 Fitch
Key moment/turning point: A sluggish win for the person slotted as he next probable challenger for the championship after the Georges St. Pierre vs. Matt Serra title match. Fitch's wrestling was the key, scoring takedowns in all three rounds, but not doing substantial damage. -DM
Analysis: This was not the kind of win you'd like to see propel someone to the championship in a lackluster match. Fitch was rocked in the first round but recovered enough to get the takedown. Fitch clearly won the second round with a takedown and doing moderate damage. The third round saw both men score with punches and kicks. It was close standing, probably in Wilson's favor, when Fitch scored a takedown and did some ground and pound to close the fight, although Wilson was working on a triangle at the finish. With the win, Fitch tied the UFC's all-time record with his eighth consecutive victory, tying the 1993-94 record set by Royce Gracie.

Heavyweights: Andrei Arlovski (14-5) def. Jake O’Brien (10-1)
Finish: TKO, 4:17 of the second round
Key moment/Turning point: Arlovski scored a trip in the clinch and opened up a ferocious ground and pound assault.
Analysis: The UFC did everything it could to bury the popular former UFC heavyweight champion in the final fight of his contract. They put Arlovski on the nontelevised undercard, matched him against human blanket O’Brien, and even angled the pre-fight video to focus on O’Brien. O’Brien was the aggressor in the opening round and won the round, getting stuffed on his first three takedown attempts but finally hitting on the third and scoring with several punches and elbows. The second was more of the same until Arlovski scored the trip. Soon thereafter, he unleashed the fistic power that made him a fan favorite and the fight was called to a halt. -DD

Welterweights: Luigi Fiorvanti (13-3) def. Luke Cummo (9-5)
Finish: Unanimous decision by straight scores of 30-27
Y! Sports score: 30-27, Fiorvanti
Key moment/turning point: Not any specific moment, but the story of the fight was Cummo's inability to stop Fiorvanti's takedowns.
Analysis: Cummo had little chance to show his stand-up in what ended up as a wrestling match with light ground and pound. Cummo never got started and at best was successful in not taking any serious damage while being overpowered. -DM

Welterweights: Josh Koscheck (10-2) def. Dustin Hazelett (10-4)
Finish: TKO, 1:24 of the second round
Key moment/Turning point: Koscheck nailed Hazelett with a bull's-eye of a high left kick that connected behind the ear, then finished the fight seconds later.
Analysis: In the final fight of his UFC contract, the former Ultimate Fighter 1 standout scored a big win in a tremendous match. Hazelett won an action-packed first round, opening things with a high kick which rocked Koscheck back to the fence and following up with a knee. The two stood and traded for much of the round. Hazelett cinched a standing guillotine and scissored Koscheck around the waist, but Koscheck managed to pop out. In the second the two were standing and trading again when Koscheck drilled Hazelett with the kick. Hazelett tried to get back to his feet, but Koscheck pounced and landed five punches before Herb Dean stopped the fight. Though Hazelett got caught, his performance against a fighter of Koscheck’s caliber should up his stock in the pecking order. -DD

Mark Coleman became the fifth inductee into the UFC Hall of Fame in a ceremony held between matches. Coleman, an NCAA champion and All-American wrestler at Ohio State, also competed on the 1992 U.S. Olympic team. Coleman won the UFC 11 and UFC 12 tournaments before defeating Dan Severn to win the UFC heavyweight title. He then went on to PRIDE and became the first Grand Prix tournament champion.

Dubbed the “Godfather of Ground and Pound” by Joe Rogan, Coleman joins Royce Gracie, Randy Couture, Dan Severn and Ken Shamrock in the Hall.

“I’m overwhelmed, this is unbelievable,” said Coleman, who was visibily emotional after a montage of his career highlights aired on the big screen. -DD

Welterweights: Diego Sanchez (20-2) def. David Bielkheden (12-6)
Finish: Sanchez won via punches from the mount at 4:43 of the first round.
Turning point/analysis: Sanchez took Bielkheden down at the outset and dominated.
Analysis: Sanchez exploded out of the blocks with a takedown and dominated from start to finish, working for a Kimura at one point, before using it to get full mount. From there he pounded Bielkheden out. -DM

Lightweights: Jorge Gurgel (12-3) def. John Halverson (16-6), unanimous decision
Judges’ scores: 29-28, 29-28, 30-27
Y! Sports score: 30-27, Gurgel
Key moment/Turning point: Halverson got hit with an accidental kick to the groin at the start of the second round and then lost the round in a one-sided manner.
Analysis: A much-needed win for the popular Gurgel coming off a terrible loss to Alvin Robinson at UFC 77. Not much doing in round 1, in which Gurgel kept Halverson at bay with sharp leg kicks. Gurgel drilled Halverson in the groin early in the second round. The fight hit the ground and Gurgel unleashed a ground-and-pound onslaught which most referees would have stopped. But Halverson stuck with it. Halverson came out swinging in the third round, but Gurgel took the fight to the ground again and dominated the bulk of the rest of the round in Halverson’s guard. Halverson dropped to 0-2 in the UFC, having lost to Roger Huerta in 19 seconds at UFC 67. -DD