"I knew he was going to be dangerous in the early stages of the fight so my goal was to not get hit as much, work his body and slow him down. I know that my pace increases through the rounds and his decreases so the goal was to break him down. I wanted to take him into deep waters and wear him out," said the winner of the night's top card Cub Swanson of his fight versus Artem Lobov in a match that went the full length of (5) five-minute rounds. "Once I saw how he was taking my power strikes in the first and second, Greg [Jackson] told me to stop trying to throw as much power and focus on volume. So, I tried to switch to that but, when you're in the heat of it, you just want to throw bombs. I want the biggest fight possible. The title fight is right there and I want that, but we will see what's next!"

Young gun Al Iaquinta showed no mercy in a convincing win.

"I'm on top of the world right now. It couldn't have gone any better. This whole week... Everything has just been great. I visualized that exact moment over and over again," said excited young gun Al Iaquinta who used the power of positive thinking to quickly dispose of the more experienced Diego Sanchez via knockout at 1:38 of Round 1. "I also visualized the other side of this fight so it just couldn't have gone better and I'm thankful for that. I don't know who or what is next just yet. I'm going to go home and make those plans. I'm just thankful for this."

There were many other highlights from the Music City Showdown on Broadway. One was when a contender named "Smiling" Sam Alvey took a foot to the groin that sent an audible groan up through the crowd of 10,144. The scariest moment of the night came when Mike Perry knocked out Jake Ellenberger with an elbow to the head that left the fallen fighter lying on the mat for nearly five minutes heaving and convulsing before being revived with some timely oxygen. The weirdest occurrence came from the fans in the stands who regularly peppered the proceedings with high-pitched yelps in the vein of "Nature Boy" Ric Flair. The cheer is unique to Nashville and apparently a hold-over from Titans games.

As we strolled the concourse during breaks we saw other elements of the UFC in action. An extensive merchandise table was doing a swift business moving T-shirts and other apparel to the enthusiastic adherents of MMA gathered in Music City. We also saw the coveted championship belt on display that all participants aspire to that is awarded to the winner's of all Championship matches.

More scenes from the UFC Music City Showdown in Nashville.

We learned a lot about the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) when they set up shop in Music City for an exciting night of mixed martial arts. First, was that they put on a quality and convincing product that justifies the $4.2 billion price-tag that was paid for it by its new managers William Morris Endeavor in 2016. Second was the fact that the mash-up of many fighting styles including boxing, jiu-jitsu, wrestling, karate, judo and more isn't as haphazard as you would think.

Controlling one's aggression is the key to getting ahead in this sport because one rash move can lead to an opponent gaining the upper hand leading to submission and forfeiture of the match. During the long night of furious fighting we saw many athletes exit the arena as victors or vanquished depending on how well they maintained their discipline in the eight-sided fenced in ring.

The Bridgestone Arena in the heart of downtown Nashville is home ice for the Predators. It also hosts a wide array of sporting and musical events such as the UFC. Upcoming events at the venue include Daryl Hall & John Oates, Iron Maiden, James Taylor, Queen + Adam Lambert, John Mayer, Roger Waters and Professional Bull Riding.

The evening's top-billed fight went the full five rounds.

Related Links: Enjoy these Tweets from the UFC Fight Night in Nashville and for more information on the UFC and the other organizations mentioned please visit the following links -- UFC | Bridgestone Arena