Josh Hedges / Zuffa

Forrest Griffin had the belt strapped around his waist after a five-round win over Rampage Jackson.

In a somewhat lackluster co-main event, Patrick Cote emerged with a split-decision victory over Ricardo Almeida in a middleweight contenders matchup.

“The fight was boring,” UFC President Dana White said bluntly before softening his stance, adding, “The reality is when there are two guys who are really good at different things, and guys who have different game plans, that’s sometimes what happens.”

White added that Cote will get a title shot, but he might have to wait a while. Middleweight champ Anderson Silva is fighting on July 19 against James Irvin, so his status won't be known until after that fight.

In the night’s only welterweight contest, Josh Koscheck earned a unanimous decision in a blood-soaked battle against Chris Lytle.

Koscheck, who was fighting for the first time since re-signing with the UFC, controlled his veteran opponent with positional dominance by utilizing his wrestling, and opened a large cut to Lytle’s right eye in the early going. The cut became a bull’s eye for Koscheck, who repeatedly elbowed and punched Lytle on the spot. Late in the second, it appeared Koscheck might be close to finishing Lytle, but his opponent was able to escape. Still, the round was one-sided enough that two ringside judges scored it 10-8 for Koscheck, who rode the momentum to victory.

“I thought it was cool,” Koscheck said about fighting in the blood-bath.

Tyson Griffin continued his winning ways, earning his fourth consecutive victory in the octagon with a unanimous decision against Marcus Aurelio.

Griffin controlled the action, using his wrestling to sprawl and brawl as well as score an occasional takedown, and he avoided trouble on the ground against the American Top Team black belt.

With the unanimous decision win, Tyson Griffin moves to 11-1 overall and 5-1 in the UFC.

Last time Gabriel Gonzaga fought at Mandalay Bay, he was competing for the UFC heavyweight championship. This time around, Gonzaga’s fight wasn’t even scheduled for the TV broadcast, but the Brazilian dominated Justin McCully en route to a first-round submission victory.

Lightweight Cole Miller supplied one of the night’s best moments when he tapped out black belt Jorge Gurgel with a triangle choke at 4:46 of the third round.

Miller trailed on the judges’ scorecards as the fight went to the third, and Gurgel looked to finish with a takedown. As Gurgel looked to pass, Miller shifted his hips and caught the Brazilian in a triangle. Gurgel, who holds a black belt in jiu-jitsu, two levels above Miller’s purple, tried to wriggle free, but Miller held on tight. For over 30 seconds, Gurgel tried to find angles to separate himself and allow himself oxygen, but eventually, Miller re-positioned himself on top, squeezing the triangle tighter until Gurgel finally tapped out.

“Not bad for a purple belt,” Miller said. “I’m not just some redneck from Georgia. I train with American Top Team and that’s what we put out.”

Event awards
Griffin and Jackson won the Fight of the Night bonus award from the UFC for their five-round war. Cole Miller won Submission of the Night for tapping out Gurgel, and Melvin Guillard received Knockout of the Night honors for stopping Dennis Siver.

For full results, click on our UFC 86 round-by-round coverage.

Penn-GSP expected later this year
If Georges St. Pierre can get past Jon Fitch at next month's UFC 87, B.J. Penn will likely move up to the 170-pound division to challenge St. Pierre at the end of the year, UFC President Dana White said.

Penn and White spent time meeting on Saturday and Penn voiced his hopes of competing against GSP, and White says that even if Penn makes the move, it wouldn't be permanent. He would come back to defend his lightweight title, possibly against next month's Roger Huerta-Kenny Florian winner.

Penn and St. Pierre are both considered among the world's top five pound-for-pound fighters, according to most MMA news sites.