Mir earns Oscar-like victory

If there is one thing Brock Lesnar has learned in his professional career, it's how to follow a script.

The former pro wrestler came out and executed his game plan to perfection in his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut at Mandalay Bay on Saturday night.

The only problem for him is that in this sport, the officials and opponents don't always play their parts.

Lesnar took down Frank Mir twice and barraged the former UFC champion with punches, but Mir eventually locked in a kneebar that forced the former World Wrestling Entertainment champion to tap out.

"Obviously, I was not winning that fight for the first 1:20," Mir said. "I just stayed in constant motion and kept going for my submission attempts."

It was apparent that Lesnar is not yet an expert in the nuances of his new sport.

After executing a takedown seconds into the fight, he rained fists on a downed Mir. Several of the blows connected with the back of the head, however, and Lesnar was pulled off Mir and had a point deducted.

After standing up, Lesnar again took Mir down and began connecting with fists and elbows.

"He's a powerful human being," Mir said. "But the one thing you can't prepare for is how quick he is."

This time, Mir took the shots and tried to work several submission attempts. The jiu-jitsu black belt finally locked in the kneebar and Lesnar quickly tapped.

Despite the loss, Lesnar showed signs that with experience he could become a force in the heavyweight division.

His takedowns of Mir were powerful and he was able to do some damage once he got him to the mat.

"Back to the drawing board," Lesnar said. "I'm here for the long haul. I can fight here. This wasn't a one-shot deal."

As for Mir, the win catapults the Las Vegan back into the heavyweight title picture. After several lackluster showings, Mir has strung together consecutive first-round submission victories.

The title he seeks is now held by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, who became the interim heavyweight champion with a third-round submission victory over two-time former champion Tim Sylvia.

Nogueira, the former Pride Fighting Championships heavyweight champion, was able to lock in a choke on Sylvia in the first extended action on the ground of the bout.

Sylvia controlled most of the first two rounds with his superior striking skills and almost finished Nogueira in the first after a huge right hand put him on the mat and in trouble.

But Nogueira survived and eventually got into his comfort zone on the mat where he was able to make quick work of Sylvia.

With the win, Nogueira becomes the first fighter to ever win the UFC heavyweight crown after holding the same title in Pride.

In other action, Nate Marquardt stopped Jeremy Horn with a guillotine choke at 1:37 of the second round.

Las Vegan Tyson Griffin struggled at times with Gleison Tibau, but managed to take a decision with a 30-27 advantage on all three judges' scorecards.