UFC 70

Lore & Background

The mid-2000s light heavyweight division in the UFC was a peculiar and fascinating ecosystem. Rashad Evans, a former Olympic wrestler and the first fighter to hold both the UFC and WEC light heavyweight belts, had established himself as a technically complete champion. His title defense at UFC 70 against Matt Lindland was framed as a test of whether Evans could handle a striker with genuine knockout power. The answer came quickly: Evans used his wrestling base to control the early exchanges, then finished Lindland with a ground-and-pound sequence in the second round, cementing his reputation as one of the most well-rounded champions the division had produced. The co-main event carried its own weight. Matt Hughes, by then a two-division former champion and one of the sport's most beloved competitors, faced Frank Mir, a rising light heavyweight with a fearsome reputation for finishing fights early. Hughes, ever the tactician, used his experience and grappling to neutralize Mir's power and secure a third-round TKO. For fans watching in 2007, it was a reminder that the veteran generation still had answers for the up-and-coming crowd. UFC 70 also served as a snapshot of the promotion's growth. The Mandalay Bay Events Center, a mid-sized Las Vegas venue, hosted a card that felt like a major PPV in terms of talent density. The event helped build momentum in a period when the UFC was transitioning from sporadic, event-driven shows to a more consistent weekly programming model that would define the next decade.

In Their Own Story

The Mandalay Bay Events Center hummed with a low, electric murmur as the cage crew ran their final checks. Outside, the Las Vegas sun had already dipped below the Strip, painting the sky in bands of amber and violet. Inside, the octagon's steel posts caught the overhead lights and threw them back in sharp white lines. Rashad Evans sat in his corner, jaw wrapped, eyes half-closed. He did not pace. He did not bounce. He simply breathed, the way he had breathed on the wrestling mat in Colorado, the way he had breathed in the WEC cage before the Zuffa merger made the titles one. Across the cage, Matt Lindland bounced, spat, roared at his own hands. The crowd noise swelled and thinned like a tide. The bell rang. For eleven minutes, the fight was a chess match — Lindland's hands flashing, Evans's hips dropping, a takedown, a scramble, a reset. Then, in the second round, the chess board flipped. Evans buried his head, locked the arm, and the canvas did the rest. The referee waved it off. Evans rolled to his back, stared up at the lights, and exhaled. In the front row, a kid in a faded UFC shirt was already screaming before the announcer finished the sentence. The night was still young, and the cage still had more fights to give.

Reader's Guide

UFC 70 | September 28, 2007 | Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, NV Headline: Rashad Evans (c) def. Matt Lindland by TKO, R2 — UFC Light Heavyweight Championship

• Evans used his wrestling base to survive Lindland's striking and finished with ground-and-pound in round two, extending his reign as a two-belt light heavyweight champion. • Matt Hughes vs. Frank Mir delivered a co-main event that pitted the veteran two-division champion against one of the division's most feared finishers; Hughes won by TKO in round three. • The card showcased the depth of the mid-2000s light heavyweight division, with three of the top names in the weight class sharing a single bill. • Held at a mid-sized Las Vegas venue, the event reflected the UFC's push toward a more regular PPV cadence during its expansion era.

Did You Know?

• Rashad Evans was the first fighter in UFC history to hold both the UFC and WEC light heavyweight championships simultaneously, a distinction he carried into his UFC 70 defense.
• Matt Hughes entered UFC 70 as a two-division former champion (light heavyweight and heavyweight), making his bout with Frank Mir a veteran-versus-rising-star clash that drew significant PPV attention.
• The Mandalay Bay Events Center, the venue for UFC 70, is a mid-sized Las Vegas convention space that hosted numerous UFC events during the promotion's 2006–2009 expansion period.
• UFC 70 took place roughly a year before the UFC's acquisition of the WEC in 2008, meaning Evans's title was still technically a UFC-only belt at the time of the defense.