Mike Chiappetta • E-mail

In theory, the title of best pound-for-pound fighter alive means that all things being equal, you would beat any fighter in the world.

In Anderson Silva's step up to the UFC's light-heavyweight division, he showed that weight classes mean little and that the power and skill of an elite fighter are undeniable.

Silva overwhelmed James Irvin in just 61 seconds, solidifying his claim as the top fighter on the planet.

After a short feeling-out period, Silva caught Irvin's leg as he threw a kick, countering with a straight right hand that dropped Irvin to the mat. Irvin was obviously in major trouble at that point as he immediately covered up, but Silva followed him to the canvas and dropped a series of punches to finish him off before an end was called to the action.

"It was a great experience," Silva said after the match. "But my responsibility is to defend the 185-pound title."

Irvin has fought as high as heavyweight during his career, and has been noted for a strong chin, suffering only one knockout loss in his career prior to Saturday night, but Silva looked very comfortable as a light-heavyweight and brought his trademark precision with him as he made short work of the UFC veteran.

The victory gives Silva eight consecutive wins, including seven straight since coming to the UFC. Even more impressively, Silva has finished all eight of those fights, including six by knockout. He is expected to defend the middleweight title next against Patrick Cote or Yushin Okami, possibly in September, as he has asked the UFC for a more active schedule.

In the heavyweight division, highly touted prospect Cain Velasquez put on another impressive performance when he scored a first-round TKO over Jake O'Brien.

Velasquez, who debuted in the UFC with a first-round TKO against Brad Morris at UFC 83, is considered a future top contender in the division, and again showed that the praise is worthy when he gained top position on a scramble, earned the crucifix position and rained down punches against O'Brien before the referee stopped the fight just over two minutes in.

In another featured bout, Frankie Edgar defeated former No. 1 lightweight contender Hermes Franca via unanimous decision.

Edgar used his stellar wrestling and crisp boxing to frustrate Franca, and utilized ground and pound from the top position in scoring points. Franca, an excellent jiu-jitsu practitioner, never came close to finishing Edgar, who won all three rounds in a convincing three-round sweep on the judges' scorecards.

Kevin Burns earned a controversial third-round TKO over Anthony Johnson in a matchup between welterweight contenders. Johnson won each of the first two rounds before Burns caught him with what appeared to be an inadvertant finger to the eye during an exchange. Johnson immediately went down but referee Steve Mazzagatti let the fight continue, and Burns followed up with a couple punches before the fight was stopped.

Johnson was gracious in the controversial defeat, saying, "It's a fight. Things happen," and it certainly appeared the finger to the eye was unintentional.

Brandon Vera's move down to light-heavyweight was successful, as he won a lackluster decision over Reese Andy. Vera said the weight cut affected his energy level, but he controlled the duration of the bout with a few takedowns, a strong jab from the outside, and a damaging Thai clinch to earn a unanimous decision.

In the night's other featured fight, CB Dollaway defeated Jesse Taylor via the rarely used Peruvian necktie.

Rory Markham had the night's most spectacular finish, knocking out Brodie Farber with a one-shot headkick in the first round of their undercard fight.

Full Results
Shannon Gugerti def. Dale Hartt via rear naked choke, Rd. 1
Brad Blackburn def. James Giboo via TKO, Rd. 2
Nate Loughran def. Johnny Rees via triangle choke, Rd. 1
Rory Markham def. Brodie Farber via KO, Rd. 1
Tim Credeur def. Cale Yarbrough via TKO, Rd. 1
CB Dollaway def. Jesse Taylor via Peruvian necktie, Rd. 1
Kevin Burns def. Anthony Johnson via TKO, Rd. 3
Cain Velasquez def. Jake O'Brien via TKO, Rd. 1
Frankie Edgar def. Hermes Franca via unanimous decision
Brandon Vera def. Reese Andy via unanimous decision
Anderson Silva def. James Irvin via TKO, Rd. 1

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