With UFC 72 in the books for about 24 hours, here are some of my thoughts on the event.

Attendance: This was UFC's first event in Northern Ireland and from numerous reports, attendance for the event was a thousand or so short of the Odyssey Arena's 9,000-seat capacity.  UFC President Dana White has acknowledged in the past that UFC 70 in Manchester, England was a financial hit for the promotion and also seemed candid about the fact that yesterday's event was not a sellout.  According to White, this is the price for bringing UFC to new markets. 

On the other hand, as I watched the event on pay-per-view I was struck by how knowledgeable the fans in attendance were.  They also appeared to be quite into the event.  At one point during Forrest Griffin's bout, they chanted in unison as if at a soccer (football) match.

Yushin Okami's lost opportunity: Okami can only look back on his main event fight against former UFC middleweight champ Rich Franklin and ask himself "What could have been?"  Okami was passive the first two rounds and allowed Franklin to do enough to capture both rounds on the judge's cards.  When the third round started, Okami had put himself in a do-or-die position and he finally fought with some urgency.  And when he did, he looked very good.  Okami was able to take Franklin to the ground and control him there, even achieving full mount at one point.  The fighter from Japan almost submitted Franklin twice before time finally ran out.

If only Okami had been more aggressive in the first two rounds, he may have come out of this match with a victory and a title fight in his next match.  Instead, he will have to question his UFC 72 tactics.  Regardless, Okami has established himself as one of the top contenders in the division.  He is big and strong, with a terrific ground game, submission skills, and ground-and-pound arsenal.  A couple of more wins against top-level fighters in the division and I believe UFC will have no choice but to give him a title shot, probably sometime in 2008.

Forrest Griffin wins but doesn't finish: Griffin is clearly one of the scrappiest fighters in the UFC light heavyweight division.  He has tremendous heart and appears to have worked quite a bit on his stand-up game in recent months.  He came into last night's bout against Hector Ramirez in fantastic shape.  Ramirez was the smaller fighter and didn't look like he was in very good shape.  Griffin controlled the Octagon the entire fight and moved in aggressively when he needed to, doing enough to score points and eventually earn the unanimous decision.

Given that Griffin was the more dominant fighter, I would have liked to have seen him finish the fight and not send it to the judges' cards.  Instead, Griffin appeared content to not make the big mistake and earn the victory any way he could.  I just don't know if he showed enough in his UFC 72 fight to be considered a top UFC light heavyweight quite yet. For example, how would Griffin fare against fellow TUF alums Michael Bisping or Rashad Evans, let alone the elite in the division such as Tito Ortiz, Chuck Liddell, or Quinton Jackson?

Food for thought: Griffin has now fought seven UFC fights (going 5-2) and has only finished two of those fights.

Lightweight division continues to shine: Yesterday's lightweight fight between Clay Guida and Tyson Griffin was yet another example of why Dana White's decision to bring back this division was such a good one.  This fight was fast-paced and showcased great technical skill as well as non-stop action.  Unfortunately, the decision came down to the judges' score cards and I don't envy them because I believe the fight could have gone either way.

I can't remember the last time I saw a boring UFC lightweight fight, can you?