LAS VEGAS – Rashad Evans dethroned light-heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin at UFC 92 Saturday night, taking away the title with some vicious ground and pound in the third round at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Griffin used his size and kicks to keep Evans at bay in the first two rounds of a battle of winners of Seasons 1 and 2 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality TV show. But Evans took the champion down in the third, hurt him with a big right to the head and then unleashed four more rights and seven lefts to the head and it was over. Evans joins welterweight title-holder Georges St. Pierre of Montreal as mixed martial arts champions who are part of trainer Greg Jackson’s camp in Albuquerque, N.M. Elsewhere on the “UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008″ mixed martial arts card before 14,103, Quinton (Rampage) Jackson knocked out Wanderlei (The Axe Murderer) Silva with one punch in the first round of their light-heavyweight grudge match and former heavyweight champion Frank Mir looked dominant in upsetting interim title-holder Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira via second-round TKO.
Evans, 29, made US$190,000, including a $65,000 win bonus and $60,000 for fight of the night, while Griffin earned $160,000 including the fight bonus, according to the Nevada State Athletic Commission. The card drew a live gate of $3.47 million. At 6-3, Griffin had four inches on Evans and used his leg kicks to good effect in the first round as he did in winning the title from Jackson.
