I strongly considered not writing about UFC 108, for fear of breaking a typing finger or sustaining some other injury that would keep me out of blogging action for months. I mean, if ever there was reason to believe in jinxes, it was in the lead-up to this injury-plagued mixed martial arts event.

But then I watched what turned out to be a damn good night of fights, and I’ve decided to bravely forge ahead.

First, a little historical perspective:

Originally, the plan for 108 — at least as laid out by several online sources, if not Dana White and Co. themselves — was for Anderson Silva to defend his middleweight championship against former light heavyweight champ Vitor Belfort. But when Silva’s recovery time from elbow surgery wore on, it became clear that the main event needed a heavy makeover, as in a heavyweight title bout between Brock Lesnar and fellow heavy-handed behemoth Shane Carwin. Not bad for a replacement fight, having your top pay-per-view draw standing by.

But then Lesnar fell victim to the mysterious illness — eventually revealed to be a combination of mononucleosis and diverticulitis — that threatens to end his MMA career.

The next main event option was Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Cain Velasquez, with the winner said to be guaranteed a shot at the heavyweight title. Then Minotauro contracted a staph infection, so that bout was off.

Finally, the UFC hit on a main event that stuck: Rashad Evans vs. Thiago Silva. It wasn’t a title bout but it was as close as you can get, since neither guy had ever lost a fight to anyone other than the unbeaten light heavyweight champion, Lyoto Machida.

As it turned out, Saturday night’s main event wasn’t the most explosive bout you’ll ever see, as Evans turned back the clock to his wrestling days and repeatedly took down Silva, but then did very little damage when the fight was on the ground. That went on for two one-sided, if fairly uneventful rounds. But then, in the third round, Silva began dropping his arms to his sides and sticking out his chin, hoping to draw Evans into a firefight. No dice. Rashad, with two rounds in his pocket, kept his distance. However, Thiago went on the attack and tagged Evans with a vicious hook, and as Rashad retreated, his legs went to jelly.  Silva pounced, putting Evans on his back, but wrestling once again took over, as Rashad tied up the Brazilian striker while he cleared his head. When the fight went back to standing, Silva backed off and motioned for Evans to come forward, perhaps thinking Rashad’s head was still foggy enough that he might make an unwise strategic decision. No such luck. Evans kept his composure … and his distance. That left it up to Thiago to be the aggressor, which didn’t happen, unless you consider waving your arms and jutting out your chin daringly to be an act of aggression. Why didn’t Silva pounce? It looked like his gas tank was empty. But still, when you need a KO, you’ve got to keep moving forward, even if only on fumes. Evans survived and took the decision.

That fight may not make the year-end “best of” list, but overall this cursed card was a winner. As is so often the case at UFC events (and something that truly separates MMA from boxing), the undercard rocked.

Paul Daley, last seen disrupting the welterweight title chase picture by knocking out Martin Kampmann at UFC 103, didn’t give submission ace Dustin Hazelett a chance to take the fight to the mat, smashing him at 2:24 of the first. Daley was supposed to fight Carlos Condit, who pulled out with an injury. The thing is, Hazelett probably presented a bigger challenge. But Daley passed the test.

You could say the same for Junior Dos Santos, who also made short work of a replacement opponent. He was supposed to fight Gabriel Gonzaga, but after Napao fell ill, striker extraordinaire Gilbert Yvel stepped in. Then fell down. At 2:07 of the first.

There was plenty more on this typically deep UFC card. We tend to get caught up in star-gazing, talking about main events and nothing but. However, this sport is growing not because of name fighters but because of great fights. Most mainstream sports fans I know, even guys who work in sports, couldn’t name three MMA fighters. Brock Lesnar made his name in pro rasslin’. Chuck Liddell gained celebrity status by making the cover of ESPN The Magazine, by guest-starring on Entourage, and by Dancing with the Stars. The rest of MMA’s best? Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida, Georges St-Pierre, B.J. Penn and Fedor Emelianenko could walk arm in arm down Main Street in many cities and not cause a ruckus among the public. That may sound like nonsense to MMA junkies, but I truly believe it.

So it didn’t matter that UFC 108 was stripped of its star power, because star power isn’t what the appeal of MMA is about. What gets my friends’ hearts pumping when they sit with me and watch some octagon action is the fighting. And 108 was not lacking for fighting, not a bit. The sports bar where I go on UFC nights was as crowded as ever on Saturday. Not one beer-swilling patron was heard grumbling about the lack of marquee names or title belts. The fights were on, and that was all anyone cared about.

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