posted May 26, 2008 at 15:16 EST in UFC / MMA Articles

The UFC online betting community was treated to a spectacular night of action inside the cage on Saturday, and if you bet on UFC favorites you turned a nice profit.

UFC 84 ILL WILL's main event between lightweight champion B.J. "The Prodigy" Penn and Sean "Muscle Shark" Sherk, which was a legitimate grudge match, was a great fight that ended in a third round TKO as Penn retained the belt as the -280 sports betting favorite.

Sherk immediately shot for a takedown in the opening round but couldn't succeed. The 155-pounders then exchanged punches. Sherk scored with a solid combination but Penn took it well and countered effectively.

In round two, Sherk remained the aggressor and was able to score when he got in close. But later in the round Penn's reach advantage became apparent and he was able to control the pace with his jab.

Faced battered and cut, Sherk began round three knowing he needed a strong round, but his attempts to throw with Penn were unsuccessful. Surprisingly, Sherk didn’t shoot for the takedown and elected to stand and bang. Sherk was caught with a left knee to the head in the closing seconds of the round that dropped him to the mat and Penn followed with flush strikes. The bell sounded but Sherk was deemed unable to continue.

Also on the exciting online UFC betting card at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, light heavyweight Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva faced "The Dean of Mean" Keith Jardine and the ''Huntington Beach Bad Boy'' Tito Ortiz took on Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida.

Both light heavyweight fights had major impact on whose next in line for a title shot against the winner of the Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Forrest Griffin’s championship fight at UFC 86 on July 5.

As the BetUS UFC odds choice at -185, Silva also cashed for Octagon chalk players and it only took him seconds to get the win. The former PRIDE legend Silva ended a three fight losing streak and won his first UFC bout since 1999 by knocking out Jardine in 36 seconds of Round 1.

Silva and Jardine immediately started throwing bombs when the round began. Silva put the highly-regarded Jardine down to the mat with a left-right-left combination followed up by a vicious attack, landing two right hands that knocked Jardine out bringing the bout to a halt.

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Ortiz stepped into the Octagon on Saturday for the final fight of his current contract with the UFC. Unbeaten Machida, who was the favorite priced at -210, scored the biggest win of his career sending Ortiz home a loser.

Machida was sharp and won via a three round decision but nearly got beat by a late fight submission attempt by Ortiz that almost pulled things out for him and the online UFC wagering dog supporters. Scores were 30-27 across the board in favor of Machida, as the chalk continued to payout in Sin City.

- Goran Reljic won by TKO at 3:15 in the 2nd round against Wilson Gouveia.

- Thiago Silva won by submission at 2:24 in the 1st round by strikes against Antonio Mendes.

It was a super night of action for the online sports betting crowd. Congrats to those who invested in the favorites from your friends at BetUS.