Photography by Josh Hedges. All photos Copyright Zuffa, LLC.

 

 

UFC 85 MAIN CARD RECAP AND PHOTOS

 

 

Thiago Alves def. Matt Hughes by TKO (Strikes) at 1:02, R2 

Thiago Alves continued his climb up the UFC’s welterweight ladder with his destruction of Matt Hughes. He thwarted all but one of Hughes’ takedown attempts and even when he did go down, Alves suffered no ill effects, deftly defending the two-time former champion’s ground and pound attack. Alves drove the fight home with a stunning knee to the jaw and followed with a devastating right hand that put him into title contention.

 

 

Michael Bisping def. Jason Day by TKO (Strikes) at 3:42, R1

Michael Bisping is starting to look more and more at home in the middleweight division. Having dominated Jason Day – who himself impressed at UFC 83 – from bell to bell at UFC 85, Bisping is now likely looking at a more formidable opponent with which to test himself in his new weight class. If he can work his way into title contention, UFC president Dana White has said a stadium show in England with Bisping in a championship fight would be huge for the promotion.

 

 

Mike Swick def. Marcus Davis by Unanimous Decision, R3

Another of the latest fighters switching up weight classes, Mike Swick also is starting to look a lot more comfortable in his new surroundings at 170 pounds than he did his first go around. Following a lackluster decision win over Josh Burkman in his welterweight debut, Swick had a battle with Marcus Davis at UFC 85, ending the “Irish Hand Grenade’s” 11-fight winning streak.

 

 

Thales Leites def. Nate Marquardt by Split Decision, R3

Top 10 fighter Nate Marquardt’s fight with Thales Leites was shaping up to be a classic, but was instead marred by mental mistakes. Marquardt was deducted a point in the second round for an illegal knee strike to the head while Leites still had one knee on the mat. He had another point deducted in the third for what was ruled an illegal elbow strike to the back of the head, but didn’t appear so with the luxury of instant replay on television. The questions surrounding the fight were unfortunate as Leites dropped Marquardt in the first round before the Denver resident battled back into what was shaping up to be a solid battle.

 

 

Fabricio Werdum def. Brandon Vera by TKO (Strikes) at 4:40, R1

Fabricio Werdum continued his quest for a shot at the UFC heavyweight title, which would be a rematch with current interim champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira if Nogueira is able to defend his title from fellow Ultimate Fighter 8 coach Frank Mir following the series. At UFC 85, Werdum fought his way into the full mount as the opening round was ending, raining down punches until the referee stopped the bout. Brandon Vera contested the stoppage immediately, but had no choice but to accept defeat.