The sun has set on the latest pay-per-view (PPV) event from Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
UFC 130: "Rampage vs. Hamill" featured a re-worked main event between former division champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and the venerable Matt "The Hammer" Hamill.
UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar was supposed to headline the Memorial Day weekend extravaganza, taking on Gray Maynard for a third time. However, injuries to both fighters forced the promotion to postpone the 155-pound showdown later this year.
The good news is that the action didn't suffer all that much as a result. But it wasn't the main event that sizzled, rather a few unsung heroes from the televised main card.
Literally.
"All American" Brian Stann turned in the performance of a lifetime in his "Fight of the Night" against Sengoku and Strikeforce middleweight star, Jorge Santiago.
The armed forces serviceman had a lot riding on his shoulders, including saluting the United States soldiers stationed overseas, as well as continuing his meteoric ascension to the top of the middleweight division.
Missions accomplished.
Stann dropped "Sandman" early and often with several powerful punches. He then followed up his assault with vicious ground and pound.
It was a blistering right hook, however, in the second round that sealed the deal.
That's now two consecutive highlight reel knockout finishes (Chris Leben was the other) for Stann, who was determined to demonstrate that he is among the top 10 185-pound fighters competing in mixed martial arts today.
He certainly made a great case last night that he deserves your consideration.
Travis Browne did too, strafing Stefan Struve with an incredible Superman punch that sent the "Skyscraper" crashing to the canvas.
"Hapa" dove in for the kill moments after, but the damage was already done. The referee called off the fight and, in the process, earned the undefeated Hawaiian his second win inside the Octagon.
Expect more to follow.
The surprises throughout the night were plentiful, but none more so than perhaps what Rick Story was able to do in his unanimous decision win over Thiago Alves.
As promised, "Horror" wasn't scared to stand and bang with the dangerous Muay Thai fighter. He mixed up his strikes with powerful takedowns and ground and pound.
Story delivered an all-around impressive performance against a former number one division contender. He looked sharp and confident.
He's headed way up, while Alves -- who has now dropped three of his last four fights -- is going in the opposite direction.
My how things change.
The top two fights on the card, Quinton Jackson vs. Matt Hamill and Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson, played out pretty much as expected. Hamill hunted for takedowns for 15 minutes and Jackson punished him almost every single time.
He was forced into a stand up fight, which should have played right into "Rampage's" gameplan.
However, he couldn't land the big shot and went to the judges scorecards yet again. It was a solid, not spectacular victory, that could lead to a title shot against UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones later this year.
Now that's a fight.
And what can be said about Frank Mir thoroughly outclassing an overweight and overmatched Roy Nelson? "Big Country" put up a tough fight, but it's pretty clear that he doesn't belong inside a cage with the best heavyweights.
He should definitely step away from the buffet and test his skills in the 205-pound division sooner rather than later.
Mir, meanwhile, continues to beat the guys who he is supposed to beat. He struggles against the cream of the crop, though, which is scarce at this moment.
He should definitely take on the winner of the fight between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Brendan Schaub at UFC 134 this fall.
That's enough from us -- now it's your turn to discuss "Rampage vs. Hamill," which took place from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, in the comments section below.
Sound off, Maniacs.
For complete UFC 130 results and detailed blow-by-blow commentary of the televised main card fights click here.
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