by Steve Cofield, Special to FOXSports.com

Updated: May 25, 2008, 6:40 PM EST 105 comments

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It was expected that big pre-fight trash talkers BJ Penn and Tito Ortiz would put on a verbal show if they won their fights. Penn talked a lot before his UFC lightweight title fight against Sean Sherk, but then buried the hatchet minutes after his dominant victory.

Tito Ortiz lost his fight against Lyoto Machida, then had nothing but nice words for UFC in the ring. But things got heated during the post-fight presser when MGM officials tried to escort Ortiz's entourage out of the arena.

Ortiz, spurred on by a mouthy Jenna Jameson, crashed the presser. There were several contentious moments as casino security and Las Vegas Metro Police waited outside the press room ready to spring into action to boot the Ortiz crew.

It slightly marred what was a great fight card.

All the trash talk seemed to alter Sherk's game plan in the main event. The pre-fight talk between champion Penn and Sherk revolved around Sherk's positive steroid test last July. Sherk was stripped of his title and eventually served a six-month suspension. Penn won the title at UFC 80 in January and made sure to lambaste Sherk as a cheater with every opportunity he got.

Sherk appeared to be psyched out and completely went away from his game. The 5-foot-6, 155-pounder, who's built his outstanding record around his great wrestling and takedowns, decided he was going to stand and box with Penn.

Bad move.

Sherk's face was butchered by a hard jab that Penn threw over the course of 14 minutes. The much shorter Sherk swung back at air, leaving Penn almost completely unmarked.

Sean Sherk decided to stand up and fight vs BJ Penn, and it didn't work out too well. (Eric Jamison / Associated Press)

Sherk (32-3-1, 6-3-1 UFC), with cuts under both eyes, was softened up when Penn unleashed a three-punch combo that sent the former champ backpedaling against the cage.

When Sherk bounced off the cage, Penn delivered a perfectly time left knee to his jaw. The fight was over seconds later, after Penn pounded Sherk with nine more punches to end the round. Referee Mario Yamasaki decided Sherk could continue no longer.

Penn retained his title in front a Nevada-record MMA crowd of 14,773.

"I knew it would be competitive," said Sherk, who attempted just one takedown in three rounds. "BJ is hard to takedown. I wanted to strike before I went to the ground. I felt like I was competitive so I kept it on the feet."

In another hyped match, Ortiz was embarrassed at times by the defensive-whiz Machida. In some ways you couldn't blame him for crashing the post-fight presser after his disappointing loss. This wasn't the way he wanted to go out in what looks like his last fight with UFC.

The 33-year-old former UFC champ looked old and slow as the much slicker Machida picked his spots to land leg kicks, head kicks and left-hand leads. Ortiz also looked like the weaker fighter. It was an amazing development considering Ortiz has always been regarded as a huge fighter at 205 pounds who made his career by overpowering his opponents.

Ortiz was able to close distance and get a hold of Machida on 12 occasions throughout the fight. Until Machida got a little tired in the third, he simply threw off Ortiz whenever they locked up.

Without a takedown, the slower Ortiz was in a world of trouble. He often threw his hands down in frustration, asking Machida to fight.

It was 13:30 before the fight really brought the crowd to its feet. Machida (13-0, 5-0 UFC) buried a huge left knee to the ribs of Ortiz. Ortiz went down in a heap and then got blasted by 8-10 hard elbows from Machida. Tito was in survival mode on the floor.

"He knocked the wind out of me," Ortiz said. "My conditioning got me through that. He's a stud, very elusive. He made me work the whole Octagon."

With the fight appearing long gone, Ortiz almost hit a Hail Mary with less than 35 seconds left. Never known for his jiu-jitsu, Ortiz slapped on a triangle choke. Machida looked like he was in real trouble but then spun, trying to improve his position. When he did, Ortiz decided to work on an armbar. The decision may have cost Ortiz (15-6-1, 14-6-1 UFC) the fight. Machida slipped out and took back control of the fight.

"I had the submission. I thought I had it, but it got slippery," Ortiz said. "I should've stayed with the triangle. I have the submissions (in my game). You don't see it because I'm never on my back."

Machida won a unanimous decision by a 30-27 count on all three cards. FOXSports.com scored it 29-28, giving Ortiz the third round.

Ortiz and UFC president Dana White have had a war of words dating back six years. The war turned nuclear over the last two months, and it looks to be a certainty that Ortiz is done fighting for UFC. Based on that bad blood and the fact that Ortiz poured salt in the wound by wearing a T-shirt at the Friday weigh-in that said, "Dana is my (expletive)," there was much speculation that Ortiz would be denied access into the ring to say some final words.

But the UFC showed class, and so did Ortiz.

"I've had a lot of stuff with Dana," said Ortiz, who appeared a bit emotional saying farewell to UFC fans and the company. "The Fertittas (UFC owners Lorenzo and Frank) have been awesome, what they've done for this company and me. I hope for greener pastures elsewhere."

White took the gloves off after Ortiz's antics in the post-fight.

"He was welcome to come to the press conference," White told FOXSports.com. "The way it works is that guys have to be cleared medically and drug tested. So Tito shows up by himself and starts answering questions. This is the problem me and Tito have had all the time. Guess what, Tito, this is the UFC. You work here and you don't make your own rules."

White chuckled at Ortiz's post-fight suggestion that he is still thinking about if wants to return to the UFC.

"He has not won a significant fight since Vitor Belfort (2005). He's not considered one of the top fighters in the weight divison. Tonight he lost 30-27 on all three scorecards. He didn't land one kick, one punch or score a takedown. And Lyoto Machida is not a wrestler."

Machida impressed the crowd with his versatility, but the fighter who blew away the crowd was Wanderlei Silva. Silva looked like the feared "Axe Murderer" that he was in his mid-20s as he destroyed Keith Jardine.

"The Axe Murderer" Wanderlei Silva was awesome in his quick win vs. Keith Jardine. (Eric Jamison / Associated Press)

Jardine's calling card is his kicks, but he was done in when he closed the distance in the first 14 seconds of the fight. Jardine threw a low left kick and Silva countered with right hand bomb that landed around Jardine's ear. He stumbled, fell down and eventually got to his feet for a second.

Silva was an animal swinging for the fences and hit a 600-foot home run with a left that had Jardine go completely limp and down to the canvas. Once mounted on top, Silva threw 11 punches and hammerfists. The final two hit Jardine flush in the face. He was out cold for two minutes after the fight.

Silva was considered MMA's best pound-for-pound fighter in the world during a 19-fight unbeaten streak between 2000-05. But in mixed martial arts, you're going to lose at some point. Silva did lose, and did so in bunches with three straight losses.

Silva is back, but he never really went away. There has been little discussion about the quality of competition during his losing streak. Losses to Cro Cop, Dan Henderson and Chuck Liddell are nothing to be embarrassed about.

Goran Reljic vs. Wilson Gouveia — light heavyweight (205 lbs.)

What a tremendous fight. Gouveia was the big favorite with a 5-1 UFC mark, and he may have taken Reljic lightly. Reljic sent the message early in the fight that he's no joke. He landed some awesome left-high kicks. Gouveia swung the momentum back in his favor with a solid final minute of first round. He got top control and pounded Reljic with elbows and kicks.

Gouveia continued the beating at the start of the second. The Brazilian dropped Reljic with a big right. Once on the ground, Gouveia unleashed 30-plus punches and elbows, but it look like he punched himself tired. The fight got back to the fight and Reljic immediately began throwing. He popped Gouveia with a left over the ear and Gouveia went limp, falling to the ground. Once there, he was dead meat. He covered up but couldn't answer 46 straight punches and elbows from the Croatian.

Reljic over Gouveia by TKO (strikes) at 3:15 of Round 2

Thiago Silva vs. Antonio Mendes — light heavyweight (205 lbs.)

Mendes came hard early and immediately threatened the unbeaten record of Silva. Mendes dropped Silva with a head kick. Silva got right back up and then got floored by a body kick.

Silva got up and the fight drifted to the cage. His power took over and he collaped Mendes to the floor. Mendes was helpless and got mounted. Silva threw eight big bombs from the top and the fight was stopped.

Silva over Mendes by TKO (strikes) at 2:24 of Round 1

Rousimar Palhares vs. Ivan Salaverry — middleweight (185 lbs.)

What a display of Brazilian jiu-jitsu by Palhares. He got Salaverry to the ground just seconds into the fight and mounted the veteran 42 seconds in. Salaverry spun and gave his back at 4:01 of the first. Palhares then tried to work for the choke for the next 90 seconds.

Salaverry was doing a solid job of avoiding the submission by bridging. Salaverry (12-7, 2-3 UFC) tried to explode out. Big mistake. Palhares transitioned from the back to an armbar that had Salaverry yelping in pain. Palhares (8-1, 1-0 UFC) was slick.

Palhares over Salaverry by submission (armbar) at 2:36 of Round 2

Kazuhiro Nakamura vs. Rameau Sokoudjou — light heavyweight (205 lbs.)

Sokoudjou (5-2, 1-1 UFC) came out aggressively with kicks and punches in the opening two minutes. Nakamura stemmed the tide and actually slowed the "African Assassin's" pace landing a couple of good punches.

The crowd was booing in the final minute as the fight slowed to a crawl. Sokoudjou responded with a short right inside of 10 seconds left in the round. Nakamura went down in a heap with his right leg folded under his body weight. When he rose, he could barely walk.

The fight was stopped between rounds with the Japanese fighter. It's clear Nakamura (11-8, 0-2 UFC) needs to drop to 185.

Sokoudjou over Nakamura by TKO (doctor stoppage)

Terry Etim vs. Rich Clementi — lightweight (155 lbs.)

This was a competitive fight pitting guys with completely opposing styles. Clementi looked to takedown Etim the entire fight. He had solid success getting the Brit to the floor, but did little with it. Etim peppered Clementi punches and knees. His kicks were the most effective weapon in the fight.

That said, judges love the guy who scores takedowns and gets top control. Clementi was given the edge. Referee Yves Lavigne did a poor job standing the fight up in three different scenarios, where Clementi had dominant position.

Give Clementi (32-12-1, 5-3 UFC) credit. He won this fight just over a month after his last victory at UFC 83 in Montreal. With the win over Etim (10-2, 1-2 UFC), he's now won six straight fights.

Clementi over Etim by unanimous decision (29-28 on all three cards)

Jon Koppenhaver vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida — welterweight (170 lbs.)

The enigmatic Koppenhaver didn't look right in this one. Yoshida, a 4th-degree black belt, backed up his lofty reputation. Koppenhaver made a tactical error right off the bat, clinching with Yoshida. Yoshida executed a beautiful judo throw to send "War Machine" to his back.

In a split second, Yoshida (10-2, 1-0 UFC) got on top and locked in a guillotine choke. Herb Dean had an obstructed view but finally stopped the fight with Koppenhaver fast asleep. War Machine may have been out for 8-10 seconds before the stoppage. It was hard to tell.

Yoshida over Koppenhaver by submission (guillotine choke) at 0:56 of Round 1

Dong-Hyun Kim vs. Jason Tan — welterweight (170 lbs.)

Kim, making his UFC debut, looked pretty awesome. He was smooth with his stand-up and really tough on the floor. Kim (10-1-1, 1-0 UFC) set the tone by destroying Tan (5-3, 0-2 UFC) on the floor in the first. It was much of the same in the second. Kim got top position to start the third and delivered 5-6 powerful elbows to stop the fight.

Kim over Tan by TKO (elbow strikes) at 0:25 of Round 3

Shane Carwin (252) vs. Christian Wellisch (230) — heavyweight

Carwin was touted as a beast and he delivered. At 6-foot-3, 252, he had a reputation as a wrestler, ground and pound fighter. Wellisch learned that Carwin's hands are pretty devastating.

The fighters stood toe-to-toe until Carwin (9-0, 1-0 UFC) landed a huge overhand right and knocked "The Hungarian Nightmare's" mouthpiece went flying. Wellisch (8-4, 2-2 UFC) crumpled to the floor.

Carwin over Wellisch (KO) at 0:44 of Round 1

Steve Cofield covers mixed martial arts for FoxSportsRadio1460 in Las Vegas. He can be reached at mrsunshineshow.com.