LAS VEGAS -- Although she wasn't headlining the ingeniously devised free event inside the Thomas & Mack Center on Friday, featured attraction Kim Couture was the individual most spoken about leading up to the evening's first bell.

All the hype, however, didn't translate into a positive performance for "Sugar Free," who was soundly beaten en route to dropping a lopsided decision to Kim Rose in a fight that was the pro debut for both women.

Couture suffered a broken jaw and a broken nose in the bout. Afterward she was taken to the hospital, and was later released with instructions to see a specialist in the morning.

The fight was never in Couture's favor. She was dealt a sinister right hand from Rose seconds into the fight -- a punch that almost put the Las Vegan out for good. Somehow, though, the wife of UFC legend Randy Couture (Pictures) hung tough and survived a barrage of punches.

Rose swarmed Couture from start to finish and barely allowed her any breathing room. Even when Couture was able to score a takedown, Rose simply prevented the guard pass and always found a way to get back up to her feet.

There were several instances in the fight when referee Josh Rosenthal probably could have stepped in to stop the mugging, but Couture nevertheless finished the fight. Rose, from San Diego, won the decision 30-27 on all three cards.

In the actual main event of "Free for All, a Night of Combat," a free event that featured boxing and mixed martial arts, John Alessio (Pictures) had a much tougher time than expected with Pete Spratt (Pictures). The two UFC veterans took turns trying to impose their will for several minutes, and for a while Spratt had control of the action.

Alessio couldn't bring the Texan down for the life of him and had to eat a series of lethal leg kicks. At one point Spratt even took down Alessio, a technical submission fighter. Spratt also had Alessio caught in an armbar, but the Canadian now living in Las Vegas was able to fend it off.

However, Spratt's good fortunes eventually ran out when "The Natural" latched himself onto the back of "The Secret Weapon." Spratt stood up with his back against a neutral corner's turnbuckle, but Alessio took his time and sunk in the choke. Spratt (18-13) tapped out at 2:07 of the second round.

Alessio, who improved to 23-11, was taken to the hospital for a broken right forearm. The break came some time in the second after he had blocked one of Spratt's head kicks.

The event was a first of its kind as the first five bouts of the night were classic boxing matches while the second five were MMA bouts. ESPN's "Friday Night Fights" series was the anchor behind the show, but the MMA portion of the bill was separate. The idea to cross-pollinate the two sports came from Thomas & Mack President Daren Libonati, who wanted to educate boxing fans about MMA and vice versa.

"This was pretty cool to have two sports in one," said Fred Jenkinson, an old-time boxing fan seated near the media section. "I've never been one to watch this MMA stuff because it's just not my thing, but I'll tell you one thing: Those fights were much more exciting than the boxing they put on."

Quotes like that were commonplace but not universal among casual fight fans unfamiliar with MMA. Some had a polar opposite take on the card.

"I'm a boxing guy through and through," said a man from nearby Henderson, Nev. "I don't know. I just can't get into that crap [MMA] when all they do is lay on each other on the ground. I mean, I understand they train very hard, I guess, but it's just not my thing. … I wouldn't ever pay to watch it."

Tickets were given out to anyone who walked up to the Thomas & Mack Center box office and through the venue's Web site. More than 18,000 tickets were said to have been given out, but only about half of the arena was filled up.

Dave Jansen (Pictures), a Team Quest fighter from Portland, Ore., battled one of the original Team Quest representatives in Dennis "The Piranha" Davis, who now lives in Las Vegas and trains at Xtreme Couture. Jansen escaped multiple guillotine choke attempts and several takedowns to eke out a unanimous decision that was almost too close to call: 29-28 on all three cards. The win allowed Jansen to improve to 4-0 as a pro while Davis dropped to 14-9.

Kui Gonsalves-Kanoho, a native of Maui, Hawaii, who now lives in Las Vegas, was too much for bantamweight opponent Ricky Johnson to handle as he won a unanimous decision after three rounds: 30-27 on all three cards. Both men were making their pro debuts, but Gonsalves-Kanoho was too fast and too elusive for the wrestler from Denver.

Powerful striker Brice Ritani-Coe won his pro debut against fellow novice Rob Mitchell in the first MMA bout of the evening. Ritani-Coe landed a powerful knee to the 295-pound Nebraska native's jaw, and once Mitchell crumbled onto the canvas, the New Zealand-bred Xtreme Couture fighter pounced. It took a little longer than expected, but Ritani-Coe eventually scored the stoppage at 4:33 of the opening round.