In front of the largest live audience in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, thousands of fans filled the sold out MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas to witness an event that will be highly regarded as one of the best ever in UFC history. The main event of UFC 52 featured a grudge rematch of two of the best light heavyweights in combat sports as Randy The Natural Couture defended his title against The Iceman Chuck Liddell in a highly anticipated rematch. The co-main event also featured a rematch as Matt Hughes defended his welterweight championship against the hard charging Frank Trigg. These two headliners, along with six other exciting matchups topped off an evening of exciting mixed martial arts action and one of the greatest UFC shows in history.

Much to the enjoyment of the crowd, "The Iceman" charged his way to The Octagon in a display of confidence and excitement. Liddell appeared extremely pleased at his chance to redeem himself for the devastating loss he had suffered two years earlier to the very same man he was fighting Saturday night. Liddell finally achieved his dream by knocking out reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Couture to capture his first taste of UFC gold. The mixed martial arts world watched in anxious anticipation as the two most dominate 205-pound fighters in The Octagon met for the second time. That man, the gracious and commanding champion Couture, had dominated the first fight, and was confidant that this rematch would be a repeat.

As the fighters touched gloves, both men came out with their hands up ready to strike. Liddell displayed great counter punching abilities by landing several short rights and lefts to the head of his opponent. As Couture began to press the action by continuously moving forward throwing wild flurries, Liddell countered with a hard left hook that stunned Couture. After the two-minute mark, Couture complained of a thumb delivered to his eye and the action was soon stopped so that the ringside physician could properly examine the injury. With the All Clear given by the doctor, the fight was soon restarted and the crowd erupted in anticipation of a collision.

The action picked up as Couture began to throw heavy punches. Liddell countered with a thunderous straight right that dropped Couture in his tracks and to the canvas. Referee Big Jon McCarthy promptly waved off the contest at 2:57 of the opening round. Couture had never been knocked out prior to this fight. The victory signaled a new area in the UFC as Liddell became the light heavyweight champion.

In the co-main event and Fight of the Night, Hughes successfully defended his UFC welterweight title by submitting challenger Trigg at 4:05 seconds into the very first round. The action began to heat up quickly as Trigg and Hughes began the fight during the pre fight stare down. Both men were separated and cooler heads prevailed.

Trigg came out on fire landing a blistering combinations capped off with a right hand that landed cleanly on Hughes, hurting him badly and dropping him to the mat. Trigg quickly moved to back of Hughes where he began to work a rear choke. The championship pedigree of Hughes stifled the attempt and created an opening. Hughes suddenly reversed his opponent and scooped him into the air for a trademark slam that turned the tide of the fight. Hughes fired off a series of jackhammer rights and lefts that caused Trigg to cover up. Trigg rolled to his stomach, which allowed Hughes to once again sink in the choke that he used to defeat Trigg two years earlier. It worked again as Hughes won the submission victory at 4:05 of the opening round.

As the largest viewed event in UFC history ends we get prepared for the next big event. UFC 53 Heavy Hitters will feature the interim heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski as he defends his title in the octagon. The Co-main event will feature the middleweight champion Evan Tanner as he defends his title against the rising star Rich Franklin who is fresh off of a TKO win over the "Worlds Most Dangerous Man" Ken Shamrock.