Vladimir “The Janitor” Matyushenko was unable to clean house against the heavily favored Johnny “Bones” Jones. In less than two minutes the 23 year old Jones was able to take Vladimir to the canvas, get top position, and land unanswered elbows until the fight was stopped. Jones walked out of the Octagon a winner without even breaking a sweat.

His dominant performance was a clear signal that it is time for him to start facing the top guys at Light Heavyweight. During the post-fight interview Jones was asked who he would like to fight next, he just gave the standard PR answer,” I will leave it up to Joe Silva and the UFC”.  I personally think a match between him and Rashad Evans would be an excellent choice. We can only wait and see how far up the rankings this promising young athlete will climb.

Takanori Gomi made a statement to his legitimacy within the UFC and proved he still has heavy hands. Early in the first round he connected with a punch that landed right on the button and put Tyson Griffin face down on the canvas. This career resurrecting knockout for Gomi marked the first time Griffin has been stopped in a fight.

Just as I thought, both Ellenberger and Howard were both giving and taking a beating in an evenly contested match.  Unfortunately for Howard, he had a busted up eye that swelled to the size of volleyball and was unable to continue allowing Ellenberger to walk away with the technical win.

Japanese middleweight Yushin Okami stifled Mark Munoz’s wrestling and landed enough punches to earn a split decision victory. In the first round Okami controlled the octagon with his striking although Munoz was able to score on one takedown but Okami quickly got back to his feet. Late in the second round, Munoz landed some heavy strikes and appeared to have Okami in some serious trouble. Munoz, instead of continuing his assault via strikes, went for the takedown that he struggled for throughout the remainder of the round that appeared to allow Okami to clear the cobwebs.  Okami came out in the third round rested and ready while Munoz came out looking tired and considerably slower, this allowed Okami to score with his strikes and use his sprawl to deny Munoz’s repeated takedown attempts.

Oliveira lived up to the hype surrounding his UFC debut as an undefeated fighter and showed some excellent submission skills against Darren Elkins. Olivera got elevated and slammed in the first round but he wasted no time in locking in the triangle and then transitioned into an armbar that left Elkins no choice but to tap out.

Who made the extra money?

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Brian Stann and Mike Massenzio earned Fight of the Night honors for their 3-round preliminary bout that did not air during the Versus telecast.

KNOCKOUT OF THE NIGHT: Awarded to Takanori “The Fireball Kid” Gomi for his win over Tyson Griffin.

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Great way to start your UFC career as newcomer Charles “do Bronx” Oliveira recognized for his 41-second armbar over Darren Elkins.

Brian Stann, Mike Massenzio, Takanori Gomi, and Charles Oliveira are now  $40,000 richer thanks to their UFC on Versus 2 performances.