Dan Henderson has landed a second consecutive UFC title fight. Henderson has agreed to drop from light-heavyweight to middleweight and face champion Anderson Silva on the UFC 82 pay-per-view show March 1 in Columbus, Ohio.

UFC President Dana White also said he will meet with disgruntled heavyweight champion Randy Couture after Thanksgiving. White, who spoke briefly with Couture after UFC 78, said the two had miscommunicated about the date of a meeting he thought would happen Tuesday. Couture has announced plans to leave the UFC largely because of unhappiness with his salary.

NEWARK, N.J. – This time, Michael Bisping wasn’t on the favorable end of a split decision.

Bisping suffered the first defeat of his mixed martial arts career when losing to Rashad Evans in the main event of Saturday night’s UFC 78 pay-per-view show emanating from the Prudential Center.

Two judges scored the fight 29-28 in Evans’ favor. Bisping, who scored a controversial judge’s decision over Matt Hamill at UFC 75 in September, was given a 29-28 decision by the third judge.

Evans (16-0-1) controlled the pace of the first round, consistently tying up Bisping and holding a ground advantage with his superior wrestling skills. Evans opened the second round by picking up Bisping and driving him to the mat after scoring with a punch. Bisping, though, sufficiently tied up Evans to force a stand up. Evans also held an advantage in stand-up tussles before Bisping scored with several knees and a takedown to end the round.

But Bisping couldn’t follow up in the third round, with Evans again slowing the pace through his grappling.

“I think I won the fight, but obviously the takedowns were the deciding factor,” said Bisping, who fell to 15-1. “He did take me down but I was happy with my wrestling and takedown defense. To be honest, I think I canceled out the takedowns.”

Tension between Bisping and Evans escalated the days leading up to the fight. Evans refused to shake hands at Friday’s weigh-in and the two light-heavyweights were separated backstage after exchanging words. But the fight itself never produced those kinds of fireworks.

*Thiago Silva (12-0) defeated Houston Alexander (8-2) via technical knockout at 3:25 of the first round.

Alexander was arguably UFC’s hottest fighter, having defeated his past two opponents via TKO in a combined 1:49. But Silva quickly exposed Alexander’s ground game, maneuvering into a full mount when the fight went to the mat. Silva pummeled Alexander with repeated blows until the referee stopped the fight.

*Karo Parisyan (18-5) defeated Ryo Chonan (14-8) via unanimous decision.

The fact Parisyan apologized for his performance afterward speaks volumes about this fight. Parisyan was a step ahead of Chonan throughout the first round and continued to hold an advantage in the second, although his nose was slightly bloodied by a Chonan punch. The bout remained lackluster throughout the third round, with all three judges ultimately giving Parisyan a 30-27 decision.

“The most important thing is I got the win, but I didn’t perform my best today,” Parisyan said. “I had some personal issues in my personal life. … Next time, it will be better. I could have shown a more exciting fight.”

Making his UFC debut, Chonan scored a 2004 submission victory over UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva while fighting for PRIDE. UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture worked in Parisyan’s corner, making his first UFC appearance since announcing plans last month to quit the promotion.

*Ed Herman (16-4) defeated Joe Doerksen (39-11) via knockout in 0:39 of the third round.

This was a rematch from a fight three years ago when Doerksen defeated Herman by triangle submission. Herman has clearly improved since then, bloodying Doerksen’s left eye early in the first round with a straight left while dominating the fight. Doerksen continued to show little until halfway through the second round, when he blocked a takedown and got Herman’s back. Herman worked his way out of trouble and regained control until late in the round when he survived an arm bar as the bell rang. The two opened the third round trading punches until Fisher crushed Doerksen with a left hook for his first career knockout. Herman thanked Doerksen afterward for accepting the fight on short notice in place of David Terrell, who was forced to withdraw because of an ankle injury.

*Frankie Edgar (8-0) defeated Spencer Fisher (21-4) via unanimous three-round decision.

Thanks to his standout wrestling skills, Edgar dominated while avoiding a stand-up battle with a dangerous striker like Fisher. A Toms River, N.J., native who received strong crowd support, Edgar scored two takedowns in the first two minutes in a harbinger of how the fight would unfold. Fisher managed to escape both but was on his back again after missing a kick with 90 seconds left in the round. Edgar immediately opened the second round with another takedown and opened a cut above Fisher’s left eye around the three-minute mark. A winded Fisher continued to have no answer for the takedowns in the third round. Two judges gave Edgar a 30-27 decision; a third scored it 30-26 in his favor.

*Thiago Alves (19-4) defeated Chris Lytle (24-15-5) via technical knockout/referee’s stoppage after two rounds.

After an aggressive start, Lytle had a gash opened above his right eye when tagged with Alves’ first punch. Lytle regrouped and continued to push the action until the end of the round. Both fighters were aggressive throughout an even second round. The fight, though, was stopped before the third round because the ringside physician ruled Lytle’s cut was too deep for the fight to continue.

*Joe Lauzon (15-3) defeated Jason Reinhardt (18-1) via submission at 1:14 of the first round.

Lauzon stuck Reinhardt with a left hand early and quickly gained control on the ground. Reinhardt got to his knees but Lauzon spun around to catch him in a rear-naked choke for the victory.

Reinhardt was making his UFC debut after dominating on the independent circuit, with only two of his previous bouts having reached the second round. Lauzon, an alumnus of the Ultimate Fighter 5 season, is on a six-fight winning streak.

*Marcus Aurelio (15-5) defeated Luke Caudillo (15-9) via technical knockout at 4:29 of the first round.

Aurelio entered on a three-fight losing streak, including an August decision against Clay Guida (who is sitting ringside) at UFC 74. Aurelio, though, rebounded with a dominating performance in his second UFC fight. Aurelio controlled the bout, regularly scoring with a left jab and forcing Caudillo to the ground. Aurelio then pummeled Caudillo repeatedly with punches from a side mount until the referee stopped the fight.

Welcome to coverage of the UFC 78 pay-per-view show from the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. We’ll have live results posted here at FOXSports.com all night. Here is a breakdown of the opening non-televised bout:

*Akihiro Gono (28-12-7) defeated Tamdan McCrory (10-1) via submission at 3:19 of the second round.

Known for his outrageous entrances when fighting for PRIDE, Gono didn’t disappoint by disco dancing while wearing a white jacket and wig en route to the Octagon. McCrory started very aggressively but Gono weathered that early storm and slowed the pace for the rest of the first round. The fight briefly stopped one minute into the second round when McCrory reeled from a kick to the groin. When action resumed, Gono scored with a left hook that floored McCrory. Gono then finished the fight with an armbar that badly wrenched McCrory’s right shoulder.