Ring rust and age are evidently no challenge for Couture, as he easily defeated the massive and much younger Sylvia. Except for some solid punches and an elbow and a knee in the second round, Sylvia was totally ineffective. Randy Couture got many more solid hits in. While he may not have hurt Tim Sylvia, he certainly controlled the fight and showed how much experience and technical skill can help a fighter who is a physical underdog.
Matt Hughes returned to the octagon to face Chris Lytle. Lytle showed promise, locking Matt Hughes in a guillotine that turned the former champ several shades of red and purple, but could not seal the deal. Matt Hughes was not about to tap out in the first round. By the end of the first round, Lytle barely escaped an arm bar as time ended. The next two rounds featured much of the same, leaving Lytle exhausted by the end of the third round. Matt Hughes had an opportunity to be more aggressive, but instead went the distance and won by unanimous decision, much to the disappointment of fans who would have liked to have seen a TKO via strikes or a lock of some kind. No one likes a fight to go the distance when it could easily be ended early.
Rich Franklin was the third former champion to return to the octagon in this night of resurrected careers. Franklin was facing Jason MacDonald. MacDonald fought admirably, but was outclassed by Franklin. After trying and failing in multiple attempts to do some damage to Franklin, and taking plenty of damage himself, MacDonald threw in the towel in between the second and third rounds to end the fight.
Full UFC 68 Event Results
- Gleison Tibau defeats Jason Dent via Unanimous Decision
- Martin Kampmann defeats Drew McFedries via submission in Round 1
- Matt Hamill defeats Rex Holman via TKO in Round 1
- Jamie Varner defeats Jason Gilliam via submission in Round 1
- Jon Fitch defeats Luigi Fioravanti via submission in Round 2
- Jason Lambert defeats Renato Sobral via KO in Round 2