Two titles changed hands at UFC 92, with Rashad Evans defeating Forrest Griffin by TKO to win the light heavyweight title and Frank Mir knocking out Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira to claim the UFC interim heavyweight title.

While nominally taking subordinate status to the Evans/Griffin main event the most shocking result by far was Frank Mirs second round TKO stoppage of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Nogueira was the overwhelming favorite coming into the fight and had never been stopped inside the distance during a career where hed faced the best of the best: Fedor Emelianenko (three times), Josh Barnett (twice), Semmy Schilt and Mirko Cro Cop among many others.

Mir, meanwhile, had been on the verge of a full time move to the broadcast booth before his victory over WWE superstar turned MMA fighter Brock Lesnar. The conventional wisdom concerning Mir was that hed never fully recovered from a serious motorcycle accident in 2004 and that he was essentially a shot fighter physically, emotionally and psychologically.

When the fight against Brock Lesnar was signed, the perception among most fans was that Mir was a high profile setup for the former WWE champ”a big name on the downside of his career that would be physically overwhelmed by the strength and athleticism of his opponent. The expectation was that after a one-sided loss to Lesnar that Mir would transition into the next phase of his career as a broadcaster.

Lesnar manhandled Mir from the opening horn, taking him down and landing punishing hammer fists on the ground. That was rendered irrelevant, however, when Lesnar made a rookie mistake and dangled his leg in easy reach of the BJJ blackbelt. Even with the submission victory, however, the perception was that Mir had gotten lucky when Lesnar made a rookie mistake.

There would be no such reprieve against Nogueira, according to many pundits, as he was too experienced and too good of a BJJ player in his own right to give Mir any such opportunities for a fluke submission. Mir entered the UFC 92 fight as decided underdog, meaning that oddsmakers and the betting public agreed that he had little chance to prevail in this matchup.

The fight was certainly one-sided, but it was Mir who was in control throughout. From the opening horn he demonstrated surprisingly sharp striking skills, and knocked Nogueira down twice in the first round.

Though Mir appeared in full control of the fight as the second round began, the end would come with startling suddenness and brutality. After a low kick attempt by Nogueira, Mirs counter tagged his opponent and he followed up with a big right hook that sent the Brazilian crashing to the canvas. Herb Dean jumped in to stop the fight almost immediately, awarding Mir an improbable TKO victory at 1:54 seconds of round #2.

In the light heavyweight championship match, Forrest Griffin got off to a good start in his title defense by using his superior height and reach and an impressive array of kicks to keep Rashad Evans just out of range for two full rounds. That changed dramatically in the third, as Evans ended the fight with a punishing punching attack.

The most highly anticipated match on the undercard also featured a lopsided TKO finish as Quinton Rampage Jackson dominated Wanderlei Silva in the third fight between the two men. It was Jacksons first fight since his well publicized hit and run incident in Orange County, California and he looked very sharp throughout before bringing the contest to a close with a perfectly placed left hook to the cheekbone.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer and noted authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Northern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Fedor Emelianenko will make his debut for the Strikeforce MMA promotion this fall, facing undefeated prospect Brett Grim Rogers. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker made the announcement at a Showtime promoted Fedor open workout in New York City. The promotion has yet to announce a date or a venue, though the event is expected to take place in November with San Jose or Fresno being likely locations given their strong support of previous Strikeforce events.

Fedor is considered by most experts to be the best heavyweight MMA fighter in the world, if not the best of all time. He snubbed the UFC following Afflictions exit from the MMA promotion business, choosing to sign with the up-and-coming Strikeforce promotion. Strikeforce agreed to co-promote with M1 Global, a Russian based promotion company owned by Fedor’s manager Vadim Finkelchtein and to allow the fighter a non-exclusive deal that would enable him to compete in Japan and Eastern Europe.

After signing with Strikeforce, Fedor gave his usual low key comment:

I am looking forward to going back to work and fighting at the highest level. STRIKEFORCE is a top fight promotion that houses some of the greatest fighters in the world. I am prepared to fight any of them.

Emelianenkos manager, Vadim Finkelchtein noted:

I am very happy and excited about the upcoming collaboration with Strikeforce. We are very pleased that we found a reliable partner and I feel that Strikeforce and M-1 can support each other on many things. This will create big opportunities for both parties to test their fighters against worthy opponents.

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker added his thoughts:

We are extremely excited to have the opportunity to work with M-1 Global and Fedor. Fedor has been the reigning king of MMAs heavyweight division for quite some time now so being able to work with M-1 and Fedor will substantially increase the level of competition amongst the athletes in this weight class.

Fedor will put his 26 fight winning streak on the line against Brett Grim Rogers, who himself will enter the fray with an unblemished 10-0 record. The Minnesota native was originally being groomed by Elite XC as an opponent for street fighting phenom Kimbo Slice. After the demise of that promotion, Kimbo ended up on the UFC reality show The Ultimate Fighter while Rogers went to Strikeforce. His stock shot up precipitously following a first round knockout of former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski in his last fight, and now he takes an even bigger step up in class against The Last Emperor.

Considering that Emelianenko was a -500 choice at many books in the ill fated Affliction matchup against Josh Barnett(ranked the #2 heavyweight in the world at the time), he could be a -750 chalk or higher against the tough but inexperienced Rogers.

Ross Everett is a staff handicapper for Sports-1 Sportsbook as well as a widely published freelance sportswriter specializing in fight sports, investing strategy and how to bet on NFL football. He is a respected authority on Internet sports betting, cigars and fencing. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a pet wallaby.