(Photos by Lee Whitehead – MMAWeekly.com) 

Diego Sanchez on Saturday night made an impressive debut in the UFC’s lightweight division by remaining one step – or punch – ahead of Joe Stevenson for three full rounds. The unanimous decision gave Sanchez the win, while both fighters’ performances earned them UFC 95 Fight of the Night honors. Each fighter received a $40,000 bonus check. 

Dan Hardy led the way for the British contingent of fighters, who were very successful overall, winning three of their four bouts. Hardy was most impressive knocking out former IFLer Rory Markham. 

Nate Marquardt and Demian Maia both made their case for a shot at Anderson Silva’s UFC middleweight title – should he get past Thales Leites at UFC 97 in April. Marquardt and Maia each won in dominating fashion, possibly setting up a showdown between the two before either gets a shot at Silva. 

MMAWeekly.com’s Lee Whitehead was Octagon-side to capture all of the action in pictures in this exclusive UFC 95 Photo Gallery. 

UFC 95 RESULTS: 

UFC 95 Main Card Bouts:

-Diego Sanchez def. Joe Stevenson Unanimous Decision at 5:00, R3

-Dan Hardy def. Rory Markham by KO at 1:09, R1

-Nathan Marquardt def. Wilson Gouveia by TKO at 3:10, R3

-Demian Maia def. Chael Sonnen by Submission (Triangle Choke) at 2:37, R1

-Paulo Thiago def. Josh Koscheck by KO at 3:29, R1 

UFC 95 Preliminary Bouts:

-Terry Etim def. Brian Cobb by TKO at 0:10, R2

-Junior dos Santos def. Stefan Struve by TKO at 0:54, R1

-Evan Dunham def. Per Eklund by KO at 2:14, R1

-Mike Ciesnolevicz def. Neil Grove by Submission (Heel Hook) at 1:03, R1

-Paul Kelly def. Troy Mandaloniz by Unanimous Decision at 5:00, R3 

EXCLUSIVE UFC 95 PHOTO GALLERY