March 3, 2007 From the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia is set to defend his title against Randy Couture, who is coming out of a 12-month retirement. Couture, a former UFC Heavyweight ... more »and Light Heavyweight Champion, last fought as a heavyweight at UFC 39 in 2002. The star-studded undercard is highlited by the return of two former champions - Matt Hughes (welterweight) and Rich Franklin (middleweight). A total of 9 fights. Preliminary card Lightweight bout: Jamie Varner vs. Jason Gilliam
Lightweight bout: Gleison Tibau vs. Jason Dent
Welterweight bout: Jon Fitch vs. Luigi Fioravanti
Light Heavyweight bout: Matt Hamill vs. Rex Holman Main card
Light Heavyweight bout: Renato Sobral vs. Jason Lambert
Welterweight bout: Matt Hughes vs. Chris Lytle
Middleweight bout: Rich Franklin vs. Jason MacDonald
Middleweight bout: Martin Kampmann vs. Drew McFedries
Heavyweight Championship bout: Champion Tim Sylvia vs. Randy Couture« less
"When thinking about March 3rd 2007, there is only one word that sums it up. And that is Amazing. I will never foget the emotion running through everyone that I was with that night when Randy "The Natural" Couture was once again named the UFC Heavyweight Champion of the world. There will never be another sports moment such as that.
PPV Fight Card (Non Peliminary)
Jason Lambert vs. Renato "Babalu" Sobral
This was a good fight with lots of back and forth action. The winner of this fight would gain a lot. Jason Lambert would gain the notice of all the upper management in the UFC. And if Babalu won, he would have showed that maybe one day he could maybe work his way up to another title shot. Brutal KO
7/10
Chris Lytle vs. Matt Hughes
This was a fight made to get Matt Hughes back on the map. Would he be able to do it is the question. This fight is mostly ground work, and if you are not a Jui Jitsu fan this is not for you. But I thought it was entertaining
6.5/10
Rich Franklin vs. Jason McDonald
Rich Franklin is coming off of a brutal KO loss, and Jason McDonald is coming off two very impressive submission wins over team quest members Chris Leben and Ed Herman. The question here is wheather or not Franklin could bounce back from such a dominating loss. And if McDonald wins, he will definalty be next in line for a title shot. Lots of good striking. Suprising finish
8/10
Marvin Kampmann vs. Drew McFreddies
This is the only fight on the main card with two up and comming stars. Kampmann and McFrdies are both coming off of impressive wins. This match is a war with Kampmann being the tech. striker and McFedies being the power house striker. Ends with a suprising yet very cool submission
8/10
Main Event: UFC Heavyweight Championship
Randy Couture vs. Tim Sylvia
This has officially gone down as my favorite fight of all time, and I will no doubt get this dvd for this fight alone. You have wrestler Randy Couture coming out of retirement at the age of 43 to go against 6'8 power striker Tim Sylvia. The first ten seconds of this fight is a shocker. It made me jump up, and knock the table over that was in front of me. The rest of the fight had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. You see dominating striking, wrestling, and grappling. You will never see another fight filled with as much emotion
10/10
Preliminary bouts include:
Jamie Varner vs. Jason Gilliam
Gleison Tibau vs. Jason Dent
Jon Fitch vs. Luigi Forivanti
Matt Hamill vs. Rex Hollman"
"Randy, Randy, Randy" -"Not Bad For An Old Man"
Robert M. Remali | 07/15/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"UFC 68: The Uprising, was by far the most explosive event in American MMA history! Although this event didnt have the greatest fight card (not bad either), it had the intensity of one. Fight fans in Ohio showed their appreciation to the MMA "kingpins" by selling out the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, breaking any previous attendance records in american MMA.
The fight that stood out was of course the return of 43 yr. old Randy "the Natural" Cotoure. On paper, Randy was going to have a long night with defending 6'8", UFC heavyweight champion, Tim "the Main-iac" Silvia.
This fight card also marked the return of Matt Hughes, Rich Franklin, Chris Lytle, and Renato "Babalu" Sobral, all whom which are coming off of loses that were important contests.
I could be here forever listing all the fighters and how amazing the fights were, but all I can tell you is get this event and have yourself a fight night with your friends. If you dont get out of your seat and start cheering like I did (I was there though), then you might be watching the wrong sport."
The Uprising
Matt | NJ | 10/18/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"What an important event this was in to the landscape of mixed martial arts. Here we get to see the return of The Natural to the heavyweight division and to MMA in general, as well as the comeback fights for two fallen champions in Matt Hughes and Rich Franklin.
The drama factor is higher with this event than most, as focal acts in the stories of some of MMA's finest fighters are played out on this night. Randy Couture comes back to fight in a division that he was essentially battered out of by larger men a few years back (none of whom were as large as Tim Sylvia). Couture left the Light Heavyweight division after losing twice to the division's then premier striker, Chuck Liddell, to face one of the Heavyweight division's then premier strikers in Sylvia.
With Matt Hughes and Rich Franklin, we get to see just what they've got left to offer after suffering extremely decisive losses in their respective weight classes. Georges St. Pierre painted a masterpiece in his dismantling of Hughes at UFC 65, picking Hughes apart on the feet and shucking off all takedown attempts. Hughes returns against TUF runner up Chris "Lights Out" Lytle. Hughes declares that he will return to his wrestling roots in this fight - the skill set that brought him to his status as the greatest welterweight champion the sport has seen.
Who can forget the image of Rich Franklin being manhandled in the clinch by a highly-touted fighter from Pride? It was one of those fights that is almost difficult to watch (ALMOST). Franklin simply had no answer for Anderson Silva's muay thai clinch at UFC 67. Franklin returns to face Jason McDonald, who has recently been making a habit of upsetting fan favorites. He is called "the spoiler" in the UFC and he has had to fight for many years, through career ups and downs, to get to the UFC. Each man has much to prove in this bout - so the stage is set for something special to happen.
I will not go into the details of any of the above fights, but each is significant and each is worth watching. The undercard fights are pretty solid, as well. We have Jon Fitch hoping to continue on his unbeaten path to a welterweight title bid, Matt Hamill from TUF, heavy-handed Drew McFedries taking on fellow striker Martin Kampmann, Babalu Sobral vs. Jason Lambert and a couple of other preliminary bouts that round out a stellar fight card.
This is highly recommended viewing for any MMA fan."
"Randy's coming out of retirement 'cause he thinks he can be
Wolfe Moffat | Franklinville, NY | 09/14/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"That was said in the traditional gladiator introduction of UFC 68. When a friend who used to work with me approached me and announced that Sylvia was defending his title, I thought it was cool. When I heard he was taking on Randy Couture, I laughed out loud. Tim Sylvia's words are in my title above. These were the words of myself, and quite possibly many others, "This fight is gonna be over in less than a round! Couture doesn't stand a chance." I figured that the return of "The Natural" was great, but I thought that it was rather bold on his part. I thought Tim Sylvia was going to take his head off, just like Chuck Liddell did in UFC 52 and 57. There was one thing I was forgetting. Tim Sylvia isn't Chuck Liddell. I wasn't expecting the MAIN EVENT to be such a big deal. After all, Matt Hughes, Rich Franklin, and Renato "Babalu" Sobral are on the card too! ALL these guys were coming off of losses. What's the big deal about Randy coming out of retirement? Just gonna get beat, go home, come back to the Octagon, and lose some more. He's washed up! That was really stupid to think.
I also remember when my friend approached me at work after UFC 68. We hadn't seen each other in about a week. He didn't just walk up to me. He RAN up to me. And the first words out of his mouth were, "Oh boy! I've been waiting to see you. You missed one of the best UFCs I've ever seen!" Oh yeah? It was that good, huh? "The Randy Couture and Tim Sylvia was the greatest fight I've ever seen! The first 12 seconds of the fight were worth it alone!!!" How long did this fight last? "It went the distance. Unanimous decision. Oh man! Just wait until you see this fight!" So, if you were like me, you missed the PPV, and you had to wait for the DVD. If you've seen the fight, you can't quit talking about it. But that's the problem. Including undercard fights, there are 9 total fights on this DVD, and this was indeed a 5 star rating! Here are the fights, including the one I've been ranting and raving about.
Jamie Varner vs. Jason Gilliam: The Worm takes on The Gizzard! Pretty quick submission in a little over a minute.
Gleison Tibau vs. Jason Dent: This goes all 3 rounds. Dent wants this to stay on the feet, Tibau wants it to go to the ground. It is a unanimous decision
Jon Fitch vs. Luigi Fioravanti: Pretty good bout that ends with a submission in round 2.
Matt Hamill vs. Rex Holman: The deaf kid from TUF 3 who impressed all. He impresses in this as well with a first round TKO!!
Renato Sobral vs. Jason Lambert: Quite frankly, this was a great fight. And it ended with what I'd call a surprise knock out in round 2!
Matt Hughes vs. Chris Lytle: This was a 3 round battle that went to a unanimous decision. It had it's moments, but you can probably guess who dominated most of this fight.
Rich Franklin vs. Jason MacDonald: Franklin's fightin' in his home town!! He's ready to put on a show that is over with after 2 rounds.
Martin Kampmann vs. Drew McFedries: This was pretty good. What was really interesting was the comeback, as well as the submission in the first round.
Tim Sylvia vs. Randy Couture: Have you seen this fight? Have you watched the first 12 seconds, let alone the rest of this fight?! When Joe Rogan is left speechless, you know that this is worth talking about!!!
What more is there to say? Watch this event! Nothing disappointing at ALL about this!!"
CAPTAIN AMERICA-LONG LIVE THE NATURAL
fmwaalex | Austin, TX USA | 02/02/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"UFC 68
THE UPRISING
Still feeling a little upset about last nights fight between BJ Penn and GSP, I decided I needed to watch another UFC event and one were the main event went the way I wanted. Still I love both Penn and GSP and I am glad for GSP, but the reason BJ lost in my eyes is he ballooned up a weight class [notice his fights as a welterweight are the ones were he gasses] and also GSP is a very gifted fighter. Any way this is the event were Randy Couture went against the odds and beat Tim Sylvia for the heavyweight championship.
1.JAMIE VARNER VS JASON GILLIAM-this is a pretty quick and exciting fight as these two clash and go at it tooth and nail for a while in the first. But after a nice rear naked choke is applied Jamie takes a TKO victory after Jason refuses to tap.5/5
2.JASON DENT VS GLEISON TIBAU-the first round is great as Dent comes out throwing some nice jabs but then spends most of the round in an arm triangle. Most of the round is a battle of wills as Dent defends against the arm triangle and Tibau tries to apply more pressure. The second round looks a lot like the first as Dent throws some nice punches but can't avoid the take down. Still they both give it their all. The final round looked much like the first two and Tibau takes a decision win.4/5
3.JON FITCH VS LUIGI FIORAVANTI-the first round is kinda even though Fitch takes Luigi down at one point and controls the fight at that point. The second round looks like the first with Fitch scoring another take down, and after some good back and forth efforts by both Fitch wins due to a rear naked choke.4.5/5
4.MATT HAMILL VS REX HOLMAN-the first round is great with both not only swinging for the fences but also trying for some great take downs, at the beginning Hamill gets cut. Then with a little les then a minute to go Hamill goes in for the kill and pounces on a fatigued Rex and beats on him until Big john steps in and stops the fight.4.5/5
5.RENATO SOBRAL VS JASON LAMBERT-excellent first round as both of these guys came to fight, nice back and forth. At first it looked as if Sobral had the fight won with a nice rear naked but towards the end Jason lands a heavy hand and almost takes Sobral out as the round ends. The second round is just as great as they both go at it, but Jason lands a sweet left hook and takes Sobral out.5/5
6.MATT HUGHES VS CHRIS LYTLE-I have never been a fan of Hughes mainly because he just acts like a stuck up jerk, as well as a couple of other things. Still he has a great place in MMA and is an impressive fighter at times, but Lytle is one of my favorites. The first round is great as Lytle puts Hughes in a tight guillotine choke and as usual UFC fans boo even though a very technical fight is happening. This round is like Joe says grappling chess with both showing offensive and defensive modes, great fight thus far. The second round sees a more dominant Hughes cut Lytle open with some elbows but Lytle reverses the position and gets on top of Matt. But the round ends with Matt turning the tides once again, nice round. The third round is basically all Hughes as he controls the whole round until Lytle reverses an arm bar but that is in the last few seconds. For some reason the fans are booing at the end of the fight just because their boy didn't stop the fight, I am no fan of Hughes but I cheered for both of these guys because they literally gave it their all. Hughes takes the win but he had to fight for it, the fans [so called] should be ashamed of them selves for booing this excellent bout.5/5
7.RICH FRANKLIN VS JASON MACDONALD-I like both of these guys Jason in particular because he always seems like the underdog and Rich just seems like a nice guy. Excellent first round as these two have a standing chess game going on Rich lands some beautiful punches and Jason even takes Rich down at one point. Once again these so called fans boo a fighter who is in there to perform for them. The second round is spent mostly on the ground with Rich controlling most of it, in fact as the round ends Rich gets the win when Jason can not countinue.5/5
8.MARTIN KAMPMANN VS DREW MCFEDRIES-these two guys came to bang it out as both land some vicious strikes and Martin even gets a take down. After Drew lands some very hard and impressive blows he get s taken down and Martin sinks in a tight arm triangle and puts Drew out. This is one of the best fights on the card and possibly one of the best of that year.5/5
9.[HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP]-TIM SYLVIA VS RANDY COUTURE-the fight that everyone was waiting for as Randy was looking to do what many people said he could never do, beat Tim for the title. For some reason everybody and their mamma was counting Randy out but I can promise you that I knew Randy was going to win this fight. Captain America can beat anyone in my opinion, he's the Natural baby. We start out with an amazing first round as Randy drops Tim right as the fight starts and Randy just controls the whole round after that, he keeps him down and weirs him down. The second round is just the like the previous round but with Randy controlling from the top this time, he even gets another take down as the round ends. The third round is all Couture and it is all stand up as Randy just dominates him with those blows. The forth round is another round of complete domination by Randy, Tim had a little moment in this round but it wasn't enough to take the round. The fifth and final round is just pure domination by Randy as he goes on to win the heavyweight title at the age of 43, this fight proves how tough this guy is. Some would say that if he ended the fight early it would have been even more impressive but I beg to differ, at the age of 43 this man went 25 minutes dominating a younger bigger opponent. Captain America Randy "The Natural" Couture is a legend with out a doubt.
This was a great event and I think every one should own this wonderful event, long live Randy, lets get that rematch with Lesner. There is also some nice behind the scenes features on this as well, especially the portion about Randy and his return.