Final UFC 63 impressions

Wow.

That's the only way to describe UFC 63: "Hughes vs. Penn" this past Saturday night.

From top to bottom, the entire card was filled with action-packed moments. It certainly lived up to the hype, unlike the last few events, and the marquee rematch between UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes and the Pride of Hilo, Hawaii, BJ Penn was electrifying.

Here are some random thoughts on the evening before we set our sights on October 10:

1. Middleweight Mike Swick needs to bring more than that if he plans on surviving a contest with either Rich Frank or Anderson Silva. David Loiseau is an extremely talented fighter, but he appeared shell shocked and tentative. "The Crow" finally emerged in the third and final round to put a nice beating on Swick, who didn't look too good once pressed by a sound fighter like Loiseau. This was by far the most disappointing fight of the night.
2. Joe Lauzon is creepy. After an amazing performance against former lightweight champion, overwhelming favorite (7-1) and fan favorite, Jens Pulver, the UFC newcomer looked more stunned than Jaime Pressly. He really did not know what to do or how to act after his huge upset knockout in the first round. So, he just stared down the camera. He didn't blink or say a word for the two minutes that the camera was zoomed in tight on his Massachusetts mug. Weird.
3. Rashad Evans looked dynamite. He was in shape and super fast. It was by far his most impressive performance in the Octagon against his stiffest challenge to date. And, he did it in highlight-reel fashion, pummeling the defenseless face of Jason Lambert with repeated blows. At one point, Lambert was asking for the ref to stop it. Lambert was so punch drunk he couldn't remove his mouthpiece. Evans put on a great show and proved a lot of people wrong. Indeed, his doubters may very well today be believers.
4. Even if Melvin Guillard lost his fight to Gabe Ruediger, it wouldn't have mattered. This guy is such a character and a great sound byte. C'mon, that bleach blonde hair and bravado is such good comedy. The best part is, he can back it all up. That body punch was downright vicious. Not sure we have ever seen that in the Octagon.
5. It's official: UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia is in love ... with his belt. If you watched the fight, you know what we are talking about. He looked like he was dressed up for Halloween, wearing clothes from high school that were so tight and old-manish, only to top it off with his UFC championship belt. That's right, he left the house wearing his belt. Tim, leave the belt at home, you look like a buffoon. We all know who you are.

That's it for now. What a night on Saturday, definitely the best of the year.