(George Galanis is a freelance writer, MMA fan and BPL contributor)

It was a historic night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, with the inaugural UFC bantamweight championship clash headlining the evening and the battle between Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber did not disappoint.

Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber put on a show inside the Octagon for 25-minutes, which ultimately saw Cruz walk away victorious with a unanimous decision. Cruz retained his bantamweight title as a result of his triumph.

"I've got to say, Urijah — man, that dude hits hard," Cruz said after the fight. "He hits hard, his hands move fast. ..."

Both 135-pounders have unorthodox styles, and the way those different methods clashed was the main talking point going into the bout. Once the bell sounded the two combatants danced around the Octagon, initially seemingly incredibly wary of one another.

The fight was close and competitive, which made it surprising that one judge scored it 50-45 for Cruz, implying that Cruz had won all five rounds. The other two judges scored it 49-46 and 48-47 for Cruz, which seemed more fitting.

Cruz came in as the reigning champion because he was the last bantamweight champion of World Extreme Cagefighting, which the UFC absorbed at the end of last year. Faber was the WEC's most popular fighter and its former Featherweight champion.

Faber said afterward that he thought he deserved to win the decision, and despite his heated personal rivalry with Cruz, he was classy in defeat.

"I thought it was going to be a tough fight," Faber said. "I thought I landed the heavier punches, I had him off a couple times. But congratulations to Dominick.

In the middleweight division, one of the great knockout-artists in mixed martial arts, Wanderlei Silva was himself knocked out cold by Chris Leben.

Silva is one of the all-time stars of MMA, which made the brutal barrage of uppercuts and vicious right hands unleashed by Leben, tough to watch.

The fight lasted just 27 seconds.

Silva has taken so many shots in his storied MMA and he might not have much left in the tank.

"I can't believe it's real," Leben said of his victory. "Holy s**t."

The win improves Leben's record to 26-7, and it's arguably the biggest win of his career, given the legendary status of Silva.

Leben acknowledged Silva's status as an all-time great post-fight.

"Wanderlei, I love you," Leben said. "You're my hero."

Silva is a hero to many MMA fans - but with this loss - his record falls to 33-11-1, including 2-6 in his last eight fights. Sadly, it could be the moment to call time on this historic career.

In a shock upset, Tito Ortiz — the aging former light heavyweight

champion widely dismissed as "passed it" — defeated Ryan Bader in the first round. Ortiz hurt Bader with a right hand to the jaw before forcing Baber to submit to a guillotine choke.

Ortiz could hardly contain his jubilation after the victory, as the fans in Las Vegas chanted "Tito! Tito!" reminiscent of the way they shouted his name in the past, when Ortiz was at the very top of the UFC world.

UFC President Dana White had said leading up to this fight that Ortiz had to win in order to keep his job. Ortiz credited White's comments for helping fuel his desire after the clash.

"I've got to thank Dana White for pushing me to the limit," Ortiz said.

It was the 24th UFC fight for Ortiz, tying with Matt Hughes and Randy Couture for the most fights in UFC history. Furthermore, as a result of his victory, it means that Ortiz will determine the path his career takes from here.

Australia's George Sotiropoulos entered 2011 appearing to be on the verge of a lightweight title shot. He was riding high, and appeared to be destined for greatness in the UFC. Now he's on a two-fight losing streak, and at UFC 132, he suffered the most brutal loss of his career.

Rafael dos Anjos landed a right hand directly to Sotiropoulos's chin that turned his head and sent him flat on his back with his eyes quickly disappearing back up into his head.

Referee Yves Lavigne immediately called for an end to the fight.

The whole fight lasted just 59 seconds.

It's back to the drawing board for Sotiropoulos; 2011 was supposed to be something of a coming out party, but it's been a disappointment.

And there's nothing more soul-destroying than being knocked out in less than 60 seconds.