The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to Las Vegas tonight for UFC 109: “Relentless.” The event was headlined by a light heavyweight bout between UFC Hall of Famers Randy “The Natural” Couture and Mark “The Hammer” Coleman that was first set for UFC 17 in 1998.

In other main card action, Chael Sonnen defeated Nate “The Great” Marquardt in a middleweight title eliminator, while Paulo Thiago choked out Mike “Quick” Swick in a welterweight bout. MMARising.com has live play-by-play of all of the action on the decision-filled card.

 

Randy “The Natural” Couture vs Mark “The Hammer” Coleman

Round 1:
Both fighters landed stiff jabs early on and Couture scored with a one-two. Coleman answered with a leg kick and Couture connected with another right hook. More punches landed for Couture, but Coleman rocked him with a three-punch flurry. Couture recovered and the fighters returned to jabs. Two big punches staggered Coleman and Couture followed with more strikes against the cage.

Couture landed uppercuts and short punches in close. The fighters exchanged punches and Couture connected with another uppercut. Two huge uppercuts jarred Coleman, but he stayed strong and threw a pair of knees to the body. Couture kept the pressure on with punches in close for the remainder of the round. 10-9 Couture.

Round 2:
Jabs and left hooks landed for both fighters in the second round and Couture rocked Coleman with a one-two. He took Coleman down and landed in mount. Couture rained down punches and Coleman gave up his back. Couture secured a rear-naked choke and Coleman, bleeding from the head, refused to tap out. He was soon choked unconscious and referee Steve Mazzagatti waved off the fight.

Winner: Randy Couture by Technical Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 1:09 of round two. He improves to 18-10-0.

 

Chael Sonnen vs Nate “The Great” Marquardt

Round 1:
Marquardt opened the fight with a front kick and used more kicks to keep Sonnen at bay. Sonnen clinched and pressed Marquardt up against the cage. Marquardt circled away and countered a Sonnen takedown with a tight guillotine choke. Sonnen managed to escape and landed punches from the top. Big elbows landed for Sonnen and he mixed in punches as well.

Marquardt scrambled to his feet and landed a flying knee, but Sonnen took him down again. Sonnen kept the pressure on with strikes from the top and Marquardt tried to answer with elbows from the bottom. Sonnen punished Marquardt with elbows and punches as Marquardt could do little but hold on. Sonnen smothered Marquardt and punched from the top until the bell. Excellent round for Sonnen. 10-9 Sonnen.

Round 2:
Sonnen pushed forward and scored a takedown early in the second round. He moved to half-guard, but Marquardt tried for a Kimura. Sonnen evaded danger and looked to move to mount, but Marquardt kept him in butterfly guard. Marquardt tried to work back to his feet, but could not. Sonnen teed off with strikes from the top, but Marquardt opened a bad cut between Sonnen’s eyes with an elbow from the bottom.

More big strikes landed for Sonnen, but his blood began to cover the canvas. Sonnen took Marquardt’s back and the fighters traded elbow strikes. Both fighters were now completely covered in blood as Sonnen’s head continued to bleed all over the place. Marquardt briefly stood up and was promptly taken down again. Complete domination. 10-9 Sonnen. Possibly even a 10-8.

Round 3:
Marquardt tried to take Sonnen down right away and was easily stuffed. Sonnen promptly answered by putting Marquardt on his back and he resumed his barrage of punches and elbows from the top. More strikes followed and Marquardt attempted to scramble to his feet. Sonnen took his back and kept him down. Marquardt rolled forward, but Sonnen retained top position.

Sonnen, bleeding from the head again, used his free arm to pepper Marquardt with punches and hammerfists. Marquardt worked back to his feet and countered a Sonnen takedown with an extremely tight guillotine choke. Sonnen was clearly in danger, but eventually managed to free himself. Marquardt tried to stand up, then rolled over and reversed position. Marquardt stood over Sonnen and landed punches until the bell. Very close round. 10-9 Sonnen, barely.

Winner: Chael Sonnen by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 24-10-1.

 

Paulo Thiago vs Mike “Quick” Swick

Round 1:
Swick came out very quickly and threw short punches and Thiago answered with a head kick. Swick connected with a right hook and Thiago sent him off-balance with a leg kick. Swick regained his balance and landed a right hook, then followed with a trio of punches. Swick landed a leg kick and just missed with an overhand right.

Thiago nearly tripped Swick to the mat with another leg kick and the fighters traded punches. Swick scored with kicks of his own, but Thiago backed him up with punches. Quick strikes were exchanged and both fighters landed. Swick scored a takedown and landed a handful of short punches until the bell. Close round. 10-9 Swick.

Round 2:
The pace remained high in the second round as both fighters scored with short punches and kicks. Thiago landed a hard leg kick and followed with a body kick. Swick missed a looping haymaker, but connected with a trio of jabs and a right hand. Thiago floored him with a counter left hook and quickly secured a Brabo Choke. Swick had nowhere to go and was quickly choked unconscious. Very impressive finish for Thiago.

Winner: Paulo Thiago by Technical Submission (Brabo Choke) at 1:54 of round two. He improves to 13-1-0.

 

Demian Maia vs Dan Miller

Round 1:
Miller began round one with single punches and kicks as Maia looked to find his range. Miller scored with a trio of punches in close and Maia answered with wild punches. He clinched and tried for a takedown against the cage, but Miller defended well. Miller broke free of the clinch and Maia landed a head kick. Miller answered with a right hook and a body kick.

A vicious body kick landed for Maia and he took Miller down. Miller immediately scrambled back to his feet and was hit with a low blow. He was given time to recover and action resumed. Miller landed quick strikes and Maia looked to counter. Maia tripped Miller to the mat very briefly, but Miller got to his feet and the fighters traded punches. Miller landed a right hook at the bell. Even round. 10-10.

Round 2:
Maia landed a nice body kick to begin the second round and Miller answered with two quick punches. The fighters traded leg kicks and Miller connected with a lead left hook. A big left hook landed for Maia and he followed that with a counter right hand seconds later. Miller landed a stiff leg kick and added a right hook to the body.

Another left hook landed for Maia and both fighters landed punches in an exchange. Maia landed a one-two and Miller countered with a front kick. Miller picked up the pace, but was unable to land anything solid. Maia backed him up with a left hook and a one-two. Miller answered with a flurry, but Maia kept him at bay with jabs. 10-9 Maia.

Round 3:
Miller pressed forward with a one-two and the fighters traded quick punches in close. Maia clinched and pressed Miller against the cage, but Miller circled free. Miller stunned Maia with a right hand, but Maia got back to his feet and dragged Miller to the ground. Maia looked to pass directly to mount, then stood over Miller and peppered him with short punches. Miller worked back to his feet and defended a takedown.

Maia fought off a guillotine choke and took Miller down again. Maia could not pass Miller’s guard, but he stood over top of him and landed punches again. More short punches scored for Maia, but he could not escape Miller’s guard and a relative stalemate followed. Miller tried for a triangle choke, but Maia easily escaped and both fighters landed strikes on the ground. 10-9 Maia.

Winner: Demian Maia by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 12-1-0.

 

Matt “The Terror” Serra vs Frank “Twinkle Toes” Trigg

Round 1:
Serra opened the fight with a couple of nice shots to the body, but Trigg answered with a pair of flurries. The fighters continued to trade punches and Serra targeted the body again. Serra put together a combination as Trigg opted to maintain distance with jabs. Serra floored Trigg with a big right hook and followed with more punches on the ground. Referee Josh Rosenthal rescued Trigg from further damage.

Winner: Matt Serra by KO (Punches) at 2:23 of round one. He improves to 10-6-0.

 

(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)