Silva defends UFC title against Marquardt

In a year of Ultimate Fighting Championship title-fight upsets, middleweight champ Anderson Silva on Saturday showed why his belt is so firmly affixed.

Silva (19-4), a polished Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist, reversed himself from a bottom position against challenger Nate Marquardt and proceeded to pound his foe with a flurry of right-handed punches capped by three to Marquardt’s right ear area. That barrage caused referee John McCarthy to stop the fight and declare Silva the winner by technical knockout with 10 seconds left in the first round.

Silva’s defense at Arco Arena comes on the heels of losses since March by UFC champions Tim Sylvia (heavyweight), Chuck Liddell (light-heavyweight) and Georges St. Pierre (welterweight).

Marquardt had his moments in the fight, grabbing the champion’s right leg on a kick attempt, and later barreling an elbow into Silva’s face. Just before Silva’s decisive reversal, Marquardt’s corner told him if he was more aggressive, he’d win the round.

Seconds later, Marquardt was sitting dejectedly on the canvas with two bruised eyes, and Silva was en route to a rematch against Rich Franklin, who Silva took the title from last October.

The UFC lightweight champion, Sean Sherk, also defended his belt, winning his first title defense by unanimous decision, 50-45, 50-45, 49-46. Sherk withstood powerful right knees to the head in the second and fourth rounds by challenger Hermes Franca of Brazil.

Sherk (36-2-1) won by maintaining a position of authority throughout a fight spent mostly on the mat, executing what he said was “a good combination of wrestling and jiu-jitsu,” in a cautious style that was a nod to Franca’s skills but drew boos from the capacity crowd of 14,371.

Franca (19-6) locked Sherk’s head in a first-round hold that turned the champion’s face increasingly before he escaped. Franca’s second-round knee rocked Sherk but he again escaped a headlock and battered Franca with punches. Sherk bent Franca’s right arm in a grotesque angle in the third round and answered another knee blow by slamming Franca twice in the last two rounds.

Huntington Beach’s Tito Ortiz, the former UFC light-heavyweight champion, fought to a draw against Rashad Evans (15-0-1). Ortiz (16-5-1) would’ve won the fight but referee John McCarthy had to deduct a point from him in the second round. Ortiz violated UFC rules by holding onto the Octagon fencing as he leveraged himself.

“If you’re not cheating, you’re not trying,” he said. “It’s my natural instinct to grab onto the cage.”

Ortiz slammed Evans late in the second round, and nearly submitted Evans in the final seconds with a tight chokehold but time expired.

lance.pugmire@latimes.com