In a tactical main event, TUF 1 winner Forrest Griffin exacted revenge on Tito Ortiz by defeating him via split decision. The first round was close, but despite Ortiz scoring a takedown, Forrest did the better work. He hit Ortiz with some excellent leg kicks, and his boxing from long range was sublime.

Tito had a better second though. While Griffin was still doing the better work on the feet, Ortiz got two takedowns, and he brutalised Forrest from inside his guard. A huge cut opened next to the left eye of Griffin after one of Ortiz's trademark elbows, but thankfully for the Georgia native, this wouldn't be a problem for him for the remainder to the fight.

The third was all Forrest. Tito looked remarkably flat and only shot for two takedowns (neither of which were successful). Forrest on the other hand mixed up his striking superbly, and was even throwing high kicks at this point. Griffin couldn't have asked for a better round to conclude the fight.

As it turns out, the judges were split on the verdict. One gave the bout 29-28 to Ortiz; another gave it by the same margin to Griffin, while the final judge scored it 30-27 to Griffin. This was a huge win for him, and he will have opportunities for even more big fights after this victory.

The co-main event of Josh Koscheck vs. Anthony Johnson took a while to get going, but was good after some initial problems. In the first, a large break ensued due to an illegal knee of Johnson hitting Koscheck in the eye. There seemed to be some debate as to whether the fight would be stopped, but the doctor allowed it to continue, and Koscheck consequently took the round. He connected with a couple of good overhand rights, and got a takedown, from which he took the back of his foe. Johnson was still a live threat though, and his leg kicks were looking sharp.

Johnson was himself the victim of eye pokes in the second, as Koscheck stuck his fingers in the eyes of 'Rumble' twice. Johnson didn't seem to be affected too badly though. Nevertheless, Koscheck dominated from here-on-in, taking Johnson down and unleashing some vicious elbows. Koscheck then passed the guard, got to the back and submitted Johnson with a rear naked choke.

This was a massive win for Koscheck, who has now vaulted himself to somewhere near the top of the 'Number 1 Contenders' list at welterweight. After the bout, he effectively called out Dan Hardy, who was sitting at ringside, but Hardy will likely fight Georges St. Pierre in the spring of next year, so a title tilt or a bout against Hardy will likely have to wait. On this form though, a case could be made for 'Kos' beating either of them.

Paulo Thiago earned a unanimous decision over UFC newcomer Jacob Volkmann in the welterweight division, although it was a harder fight than the 29-28 and 30-27 (twice) scorecards would suggest. Volkmann was floored in the first and third rounds, but he lasted and was a constant threat to Thiago on the ground - even nearly sinking in a D'Arce choke from the bottom in the third. However, there was a case for saying Thiago won every round (based on damage), and he was the better man on the night. Volkmann, now 9-1 has plenty of time to improve though, and with his excellent wrestling, he has the potential to go far.

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira's UFC debut went extremely well as he took out the dangerous Luiz Cane in just 116 seconds. He couldn't miss with the overhand left, which rocked Cane several times, and the punch which finished the fight was a sublime left hook which knocked Cane out as soon as it hit him. 'Little Nog' can certainly provide an interesting threat to the winner of Machida vs. Shogun 2.

In the first fight on the main card, Amir Sadollah put on what commentator Mike Goldberg called a 'Muay Thai clinic' against Phil Baroni, and defeated him over the distance. Baroni, as per usual started explosively; tagging his foe with stinging right hands, but after the first couple of minutes, Sadollah took over and dominated his opponent with a wide range of strikes. Baroni spent large periods with his back against the cage, and he shipped a lot of precise elbows, knees and leg kicks. Sadollah, with time could be a force at 170lbs.

Ben Saunders sent out a statement to the rest of the welterweight division by outstriking and stopping former pro-boxer Marcus Davis in the prelims. 'Killer B' used his knees well throughout the bout, and in the clinch, Davis couldn't deal with the height of his opponent. The fight finished after a left knee knocked Davis out cold. Saunders' Muay Thai is improving all the time, and as a result of this, he's a threat to most in his weight class.

Jake Rosholt looked great at first against Kendall Grove, but fell victim to a triangle choke courtesy of the lanky TUF winner. Rosholt, who beat Chris Leben earlier this year, outwrestled Grove and even managed to utilise a Matt Hughes style slam on him, but Grove showed how being 6'6" at 185lbs can be an advantage by finding a triangle from his back and sinking it in quickly. Neither fighter came out of this looking bad though, and Rosholt can definitely come again with his wrestling skills.

TUF 9 contestant Jason Dent showed he was durable against the Australian George Sotiropolous, but ultimately just didn't have the necessary skill set to win. On the feet the fight was fairly even, but when it went to the ground, Sotiorpoulous had a big advantage, and he controlled his foe well. The bout finished in round two, when Dent tapped out due to an armbar.

Brock Larson handed a victory to Brian Foster by being extremely sloppy in his work. He had two points deducted in the first for an illegal kick from the bottom and a knee to a downed opponent respectively, although he lost the round anyway. Foster prevailed by TKO in the second as Larson was fatigued, and he connected with a bevy of power shots.

In conclusion, UFC 106 was an entertaining event with some good, tactical battles. Forrest Griffin proved he is still a top level fighter with a win over the always dangerous Tito Ortiz, and a fight against 'Little Nog', who also impressed on the card, is a barnburner in the making. Also, watch out for Josh Koscheck, who proved he is a top level welterweight with a dominating performance against Anthony Johnson.

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