BJ Penn sunk in a rear naked choke in the second round of his his fight with Jens Pulver at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 5 Finale, settling the spat once and for all between the two coaches in front of millions of fans watching on live television across the world.
The two sworn enemies then embraced in the Octagon in a sign of respect immediately following the stoppage.
Pulver was never really in the fight -- "The Prodigy" dominated from the opening bell with aggressive takedowns and smooth submission attempts. It had "Lil Evil" in the defensive for the entire bout.
At times it appeared that Penn was a cat toying with an injured mouse. He set up an armbar that looked like a fight-ender, but he uncharacteristically let it go.
Either Penn lost his grip or he just want to keep abusing the former lightweight champion who talked so much smack about him since their first encounter in 2002.
Regardless, Penn got the win and redemption.
And according to the in-ring remarks from Pulver (Penn had little to say other than to visit his Web site, BJPenn.com, which crashed shortly thereafter) after the fight it appears that this might be the last time we see both these fighters compete at 155 pounds.
Pulver seems destined for the WEC 145-pound division, and Penn has a few things to take care of in the 170-pound division.
In the TUF 5 championship bout between Manny Gamburyan and Nate Diaz, an injury cut the bout short in the second round.
Gamburyan came out in the opening frame and took it to Diaz in his typical mauling style. He had Diaz on his back for most of the round, which is a position in which Diaz is actually very comfortable and effective.
He worked a few submissions, but Gamburyan was savvy enough not to get caught.
The two came out for the next round and within seconds, Gamburyan was tapping for no apparent reason. It was soon realized that he had separated his shoulder during a takedown attempt -- an injury that has plagued him throughout his career.
After months of watching the show and investing time into this eventual showdown, it is a disappointing result. It's certainly a tough pill to swallow for Gamburyan, who appeared to win the first round.
The post-fight interview with Diaz was perhaps the best part of the entire fight. The profanity-laced comments had the censors at Spike on notice, and he didn't hold back about the decision by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) to ban his brother Nick from his corner.
Good stuff.
The UFC's Latin golden boy, lightweight Roger Huerta, had UFC President Dana White and matchmaker Joe Silva sweating bullets in the first round of his bout with Doug Evans.
The Alaskan pushed the pace and had "El Matador's" back a few times but couldn't end the fight. Evans -- a huge underdog -- won the first round on my unofficial scorecard.
Huerta came out determined in the second round and overwhelmed Evans from the start. He eventually got his back and was unable to submit him with a rear naked choke so he settled for the technical knockout via strikes.
Close call for Huerta who took the fight on short notice. Hopefully we see him against a top contender at UFC 74 in August or whenever his next fight may be later this year.
In the most bizarre ending to a fight in recent memory, the NSAC ruled that the bout between Gray Maynard and Rob Emerson was a no contest.
That's because it was a simultaneous knockout/tapout. It was a scene very similar to the title bout between Matt Hughes and Carlos Newton in 2002. Hughes won that fight on a slam but was barely conscious because of being trapped in a guillotine choke.
In the second round, Gray knocked himself out with a slam, which also injured Emerson and forced him to tap. It appeared that Maynard was going to be awarded the win since Emerson clearly could not continue.
But the replay showed that Gray too was on queer street -- despite his claims afterward that he was resting.
Again, it was a very bizarre and chaotic scene.
For the most part this was a solid night of fights -- perhaps because we were treated to almost the entire card. The main card bouts were so short that it allowed Spike to air, I believe, seven of the nine fights from the TUF 5 Finale.
We should always be so lucky.
For a complete blow-by-blow account of the main card action don't forget to check out our LIVE TUF 5 results. Big thanks to UFCmania reader "DrubySunshine" for chipping in with the live blogging.
That's a wrap for this season and the Finale. Next stop ... Sacramento, Calif.
For those who couldn't catch the live broadcast of our online radio program Any Given Saturday -- which included a phenomenal interview with UFC lightweight Clay Guida -- you can still listen to it here.