For me, UFC 82 was a good show. Nothing great, but nothing terrible either. I didn't feel like I got more than my money's worth, but I certainly don't feel cheated either.

The main theme for me coming out of last night's show is the brilliance of Anderson Silva. He officially cleaned out the UFC's middleweight division last night when he somehow managed to finish Dan Henderson with a rear naked choke -- something that might never happen against to Henderson.

I would have loved for the fight to have gone a full five rounds because I was expecting a war and was disappointed in that regard.

I'll have more on the fights later, but I wanted to give my thoughts on the overall production.

First, I've got to give credit to the broadcast team. I've been critical of Mike Goldberg the past few shows but he was solid last night. My only issue with him last night is that I heard a little too much of "It's all over!" People bash Mauro Ranallo for using too much hyperbole, but I appreciate the creativity. It would be nice to hear Goldberg add a few new lines into his rotation.

But the star of the night was Joe Rogan on color. Does Dana White give out bonuses to the broadcasters? If so, Rogan earned one last night. His analysis was on point and he was very fluid and concise in explaining everything. I especially liked his analysis during the Heath Herring fight when Herring kept giving Kongo his back while going for an arm and trying to roll into a Kimura.

My favorite line from Rogan last night was when he said, "The worst part of a mixed martial arts fight is still better than the best part of a baseball game." I'm a baseball fan so I don't agree totally, but I liked the line. I also liked the prelude in which he shared his opinion about how he feels fighters need to be granted more leniency on the ground, and that sometimes it takes time to advance a fight. Good job of adding some content to the broadcast and also educating the newer fans.

I don't want to go overboard, but last night might have been Rogan's best performance. Ever.

I also noticed some minor upgrades to the HD telecast last night. The lights projected much better on my screen and the wide shots looked beautiful. However, while the action came across with great picture clarity on my screen, I still didn't see that added dimension that I see when I watch fights on HDNet. While watching the "Strikeforce at the Dome" show, it looked like some of the punches were coming out of my screen. I still don't see that with the UFC PPV telecasts in HD. I'd love to hear from other HD subscribers because maybe I'm wrong here?

I also felt like there was a faster pacing to the show. I am also curious if anyone else felt the same way? It just seems like the UFC takes forever to get out of one fight and into the next at times but I didn't feel that way last night. Usually I can get up and go to the bathroom without feeling I need to rush back, but I felt rushed last night. Maybe it was something I drank?

I could be wrong again, but I also don't recall any commercials during last night's telecast. Way to go! I also liked the somewhat non-intrusive in-product placement they'd do at the start of some rounds when a small animated graphic would appear in the corner of the screen and Goldberg would do a quick read. I'd love to see more of that during the Spike TV telecasts as opposed to cutting away to inserts. What I saw last night as far as product push was more seamless and subtle than usual. Over the years the networks have worked hard to incorporate advertising into soccer through various innovations and I'd like to see a continued effort in MMA to make sure the broadcast doesn't get broken up too much.

I will say this, I didn't think there was a good enough buildup of the non-main event matches at the top of the show. If I didn't follow the sport actively, I wouldn't have had any idea who was coming up next outside of the Herring vs. Kongo and Silva vs. Henderson fights.

Going into the show, I was curious as to how they were going to handle the Mark Coleman induction. I would have preferred that they induct him live on TV and show a highlight package. But when I first heard that they did the induction ceremony during the non-televised portion of the card my fear was that they wouldn't show Coleman at all. I just think they could have done more with him to call attention to his accomplishments in the sport. Allowing him to commentate during the Herring vs. Kongo match would have been nice.

The announcement that he'll be fighting Brock Lesnar was well done and I love the matchup! Great match making on the part of the UFC. Coleman is the perfect next opponent for Lesnar. I admit, I'm a sucker for the new school vs. old school matches such as Shamrock vs. Ortiz and Hughes vs. Gracie. I can't put a finger on it, but I really get excited for them. Knowing that there will be a Coleman vs. Lesnar match, they definitely should have done a better job educating the newer fans on exactly who Coleman is.

People don't realize that at one point Coleman was "the guy" in MMA. At first it was Royce Gracie and then Ken Shamrock was billed as "The World's Most Dangerous Man" but I always felt Coleman was the third guy in line as far as being the top dog in the UFC. Before losing the heavyweight title to Maurice Smith in a massive upset in '97, Coleman was viewed as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world by a lot of people. And believe it or not, at the time he was considered a well-rounded threat because he could wrestle and throw some power punches. Back then, that was enough to earn you respect as a dual-threat. However, his game at the time wouldn't hold up well by today's standards.

The bottom line is that Lesnar vs. Coleman at the Target Center in Minneapolis in August equals big money.

CLICK HERE to read a review of the fights from UFC 82 in Fight Critic: Part 2 

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Sam Caplan

Lead Writer/Editor - ProElite.com

SamCaplan.ProElite.com