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LAS VEGAS - Call it the ultimate "Rocky Balboa" story.

Forrest Griffin started off as a police officer, then he became a reality TV star after winning the first season of "The Ultimate Fighter."

Now, he can call himself a world champion.

Griffin had long since proven that he was more than an over-hyped reality TV sensation.

But Griffin showed why he belongs among the elite mixed martial arts fighters in the world with his five-round unanimous decision victory over Quinton "Rampage" Jackson to take the UFC light-heavyweight on Saturday night at Mandalay Bay Events Center.

"I just want to thank you guys so much," Griffin told the sold-out crowd, which was solidly behind him, in his post-fight interview in the cage. "What the (heck)? Can you believe this?"

Jackson was gracious in defeat, complimenting the newly-crowned champion.

"He just whupped my (butt)," said Jackson, who spent 13 weeks as opposing coaches with Griffin on "The Ultimate Fighter 7" show. "Sometimes you get your (butt) whupped. It ain't nothing to get your (butt) whupped. He is going to be a worthy champion."

It was clear from the opening bell that Griffin deserved to be in the octagon fighting Jackson for the championship.

Both fighters came out swinging punches, looking to impose their will on the other. Griffin struck first with a straight right to Jackson's jaw. He followed up with leg and side kicks.

Jackson came back with a left hook that forced Griffin to clinch. Jackson wobbled Griffin with a right and a left. Jackson continued to apply the pressure and knocked down Griffin with a right uppercut. Griffin survived, but the first round went to the champion.

The fight changed early in the second round after Griffin connected a leg kick to Jackson's left knee. Jackson came away limping from the devastating shot. Griffin pounced, got Jackson in the clinch and kneed him to the face until Jackson hit the deck.

Griffin passed to side control and went for a kimura. Griffin continued dropping punches and elbows until he got the full mount. Jackson spent the final 2 minutes taking a pounding from Griffin, but he showed his durability by surviving the onslaught.

Griffin didn't press his advantage in the third round and it allowed Jackson to recuperate.

The fourth round belonged to Jackson as he used his superior hands to land heavy punches and combinations.

Griffin came back strong in the fifth and final round, pressing forward with his array of kicks. Jackson was on the defensive for most of the round, but he was throwing wild haymaker in the final minute. None of them connected and Griffin took the title.

Patrick Cote (14-4) of Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, squeaked out a three-round split decision over Renzo Gracie disciple Ricardo Almeida (9-3) of Hamilton, N.J.

Two of the judges had Cote winning, 29-28, while the third judge scored it for Almeida, 29-28.

"It was an honor to fight this guy," Cote said. "It was a tough fight."

UFC president Dana White said the Cote-Almeida winner was in line to fight UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva later on this year, but neither fighter looked like they would be a serious threat to Silva's title reign.

Almeida doing a good job of smothering Cote and not allowing him to get off any of his punches. He worked hard to get a takedown and finally got the fight to the ground with 2:16 left in the opening round. Almeida wasn't able to inflict any serious damage, but he controlled position from the top for the remainder of the round.

Almeida pulled guard and had the fight on the ground where he wanted early in the second round. He almost caught Cote in a choke with his active rubber guard, but Cote escaped and it was back to the feet. Cote's strength is his striking, but he was unable to get off any damaging punches. Cote finally got in a big shot in the closing seconds of the round, dropping Almeida with a straight right before time ran out to end the round.

Both fighters played it safe in the final round unwilling to take any chances to finish the fight. Cote started landing some solid leg kicks in the third round, but didn't really follow up with anything. Almeida got a takedown with 30 seconds left, but Cote ended up reversing him and landing a few hammerfists in the final seconds.

Joe "Daddy" Stevenson (34-8) of Victorville was fighting for the first time since losing to UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn at UFC 80 on Jan. 19, and he looked as impressive as ever submitting American Top Team's Gleison Tibau (27-5) of Coconut Creek, Fla., in the second round.

"I gotta take what the give me," Stevenson said.

Stevenson knocked down Tibau with a right hand early in the round. Twice he had guillotine chokes on Tibau, but both times the Brazilian popped his head out.

Stevenson got a takedown with 2:26 left in the round, but he ended up getting himself caught in an omoplata. Tibau was unable to submit Stevenson or transition into another submission attempt, so the final minute was a stalemate.

Tibau got a double-leg takedown with 3:36 left in the second round, passed Stevenson's guard and mounted him. But Stevenson bucked out and got the fight back to its feet.

Tibau got another big takedown, slamming Stevenson to the canvas. But Stevenson held on for the ride, locked in one of his patented guillotine chokes and forced Tibau to tap out at 2:57 of the second round.

Welterweight contender Josh Koscheck (14-2) of Fresno used his All-American wrestling skills to take down Chris Lytle (14-5) of Indianapolis, Ind., at will and beat him to a bloody pulp with his ground-and-pound en route to a three-round unanimous decision.

"I think it was a good fight," Koscheck said. "Chris Lytle is one of the classiest guys in the UFC. I have a lot of respect for him and I just think that tonight I was better.

"My game plan was to stand but my coaches had another game plan and I executed it."

All three judges scored it in favor of Koscheck, 30-26, 29-27, 30-28.

Koscheck and Lytle used the firstt two minutes to feel each other out, then Koscheck shot in and got a takedown with 2:40 left in the round. He had to get out of a guillotine, then he controlled position for the remainder of the round by landing occasional punches.

Koscheck got a takedown with 4 minutes left in the second round and again he had to get out of a guillotine by Lytle. This time, he was more effective with his punches. Koscheck opened cuts on Lytle's forehead and above his right eye. Koscheck had Lytle pinned against the cage, bludgeoning him with elbows.

Lytle did his best to defend Koscheck's takedown, but Koscheck eventually got him back to the ground where he went to work on Lytle with vicious elbows. Referee Yves Lavigne stood them up with 1:26 left. Lytle's face was a gruesome crimson mask covered in blood. Both fighters exchanged until the final bell. Lytle won over the crowd with his valiant effort in defeat.

Tyson Griffin's name has to be thrown into the mix when mentioning the top contenders in the UFC's lightweight division.

Griffin (12-1), who trains at Xtreme Couture, added another high-profile name to his record with a three-round unanimous decision over American Top Team's Marcus Aurelio (14-6) of Coconut Creek, Fla., for his fourth consecutive victory.

All three judges scored it the same, 30-27, giving every round to Griffin.

Griffin's continued to show much-improved striking. He scored three takedowns and stuffed every one of Aurelio's shots.  When the fight went to the ground, Griffin was able to do some damage with his ground-and-pound and stave off Aurelio's submission attempts.

"I work on everything," Griffin said. "For this fight I worked with a lot of boxers with fast hands - you've got no choice - get beat up or get better.

"Marcus is a tough guy and he's never been finished, so I wanted to take my time and get the 'W.'"

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT ($60,000 bonus): Forrest Griffin vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT ($60,000 bonus): Cole Miller vs. Jorge Gurgel.

KO OF THE NIGHT ($60,000 bonus): Melvin Guillard vs. Dennis Siver.

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