PHILADELPHIA — Anderson Silva dodged and danced, taunted and toyed and never — ever — was in danger against Forrest Griffin.

At any weight class, Silva is too dominant to beat in UFC.
Silva used an electrifying performance to prove his bump up in weight class was the right one, dropping Griffin with a devastating right punch and a first-round knockout in a light heavyweight bout at UFC 101 on Saturday night.
Silva (25-4) bobbed his head as he messed with the 205-pound Griffin (16-6) for the few minutes they were in the cage before putting him away at 3:23. Silva, the UFC middleweight champion, convincingly did his part to stake his claim as the top pound-for-pound fighter in mixed martial arts.
“I want to see somebody in this room or anywhere else deny who the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world is now,” Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White said. “Anderson Silva looked the guy I’ve been talking about.”
BJ Penn followed in the co-main event by successfully defending his UFC lightweight crown, using the rear naked choke to make Kenny Florian tap out in the fourth round.
Penn (14-5-1) took down Florian about 80 seconds into the fourth round and kept the No. 1 contender on the mat. Florian (13-4) had no counter as he struggled to break loose.
Penn finally slapped on the submission move toward the end of the round and the crowd roared. Penn had the punishing move locked in, and Florian quit at 3:54.
“When I woke up this morning I thought, ’I’ve been in this thing for nine years. What the hell am I doing with myself?”’ Penn said. “But this is my dream.”
Silva and Penn helped usher in a new breed of Broad Street Bullies in Pennsylvania’s first major mixed martial arts card in front of a ready and raucous crowd.
About 17,500 fans packed the Wachovia Center and the $3.55 million gate — with ticket prices ranging from $50 to $600 — would make it higher than any boxing card in the state’s history.
“Every restaurant, everybody we bumped into in the streets, the media people here, they’ve all been fantastic,” White said before the start of the main card. “Now I know why this place is the biggest fight town in America. This place is (pretty) awesome.”
White has actively worked at expanding UFC cards outside of Las Vegas, and got a huge break in February when the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission legalized MMA.
Philly fans responded in a huge way, going wild from the first undercard bout and proving a city known more for its deep boxing roots can root on fighters in the octagon.
“There were 11,000 people here for the first fight (of the night). That’s as many as Mandalay Bay can hold,” a beaming White said. “Just awesome.”
White said he planned to hold a card at Fenway Park while UFC waits for clearance in New York.
The crowd roared when Penn was shown on the video screen walking into the arena. Boxer Roy Jones Jr. had a front-row seat. UFC cornerstones Tito Ortiz, Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture all watched from cageside. UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre received one of the loudest ovations of the night for his big screen appearance.
Jones floated the idea of a fight against Silva, which White quickly knocked down.
“I just don’t see the point,” White said.
Phillies All-Star Shane Victorino, who flashed his World Series ring, was there in support of fellow Hawaiian Penn.
Silva, though, stole the show.
He patiently waited to strike, and twice knocked down Griffin, a former light-heavyweight champion, and struck him with repeated blows to the face. Silva caught him for a good with a right hand to the chin.
Silva jumped on top of the octagon padding, sat, threw his body back and roared in celebration. Griffin, who received a huge ovation to the ring, sprinted out before the decision was announced.
“The reason Forrest ran out of the cage, that’s with him,” Silva said.
Silva extended his record UFC winning streak to 10.
Penn was more methodical in his approach
Penn came to the ring wearing a “Penn State of Mind” T-shirt and wobbled Florian in the first round. After two more underwhelming rounds, Penn delivered the move the Philadelphia fans waited all night to see.
“It’s good to be taking the belt back to Hawaii,” Penn said. “Hawaii’s got a real world champion and that makes me happy.”