UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort (9/19/09) Thread

[Agent Kev]

UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort (9/19/09) – Dallas, TX (American Airlines Center)
Rich Franklin vs. Vitor Belfort
Mirko Filipoviæ vs. Junior dos Santos
Martin Kampmann vs. Paul Daley
Josh Koscheck vs. Frank Trigg
Tyson Griffin vs. Hermes França
Efrain Escudero vs. Cole Miller
Tomasz Drwal vs. Drew McFedries
Jim Miller vs. Steve Lopez
Rafaello Oliveira vs. Nik Lentz
Brian Foster vs. Rick Story
Jason Brilz vs. Eliot Marshall
Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Igor Pokrajaæ
Rafael dos Anjos vs. Rob Emerson

[Agent Kev]

UFC 103: Preliminaries
9/19/09
Dallas, Texas
American Airlines Center

These fights are on being brought to us on Spike TV before the UFC 103 PPV.

Middleweight Fight- Drew McFedries (8-5) vs. Tomasz Drwal (16-2)

Drwal fought at the TUF 9 Finale and got a first round Ground and Pound TKO of Mike Ciesnolevicz. McFedries fought last on UFC 98 and beat Xavier Foupa- Pokam in 37 seconds. Don’t blink this one could end quickly. Drwal has a 4” reach advantage. McFedries has to be the most exciting 8-5 fighter on the planet, which is why he’s still employed by the UFC. In his two previous fights in the UFC Drwal fought at Light Heavyweight.

R1- And there are some technical difficulties early in the first fight so we miss the first 45-50 seconds of the fight. If the fight goes this long McFedries usually comes up on the short end. McFedries had a couple of cuts on his face early into the fight. Drwal gets a take down about two minutes into the fight but McFedries got back to his feet and Drwal landed some nice knees. Both guys stood toe to toe and exchanged punches. Drwal hit a good right hand and McFedries looks to be tiring. Drwal gets McFedries down again and is landing some Ground and Pound and he mounts McFedries but there is only 10 seconds left in the round and McFedries will make it to the second round. Drwal is up 10-9 after round one. Both guys have cuts on their face.

R2- Drwal landed a nice punch right out of the gate and pushed forward and clinched McFedries and took him down. Drwal moved quickly to side control and then mounted and clamped on a choke and got the win. Nice showing by Tomasz Drwal.

Winner: Tomasz Drwal by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2 1:03

Welterweight Fight- Rick Story vs. Brian Foster

Story last fought at UFC 99 and lost a unanimous decision to John Hathaway (I had it scored 29-28).

R1- Both guys are just swinging for the fences in the opening minute. Just throwing wild punches. Foster hit him with a big gut punch and then hit him with a judo throw and clamped in a guillotine but Story popped his head out. Story ended up in Foster’s guard and passed his guard and then took his back. Story’s nose is busted open and he’s bleeding a lot but he’s keeping top position. Foster got back to his feet and both guys started swinging for the fences again. Good first round that went to Story due to his control of the round.

R2- They come out and go after each other again and Story gets a take down. Story grabbed an arm triangle and Foster tapped out. Nice finish by Story. Rogan says it’s the first time he’s seen a guy finished from an arm triangle while inside the guard which shows the strength of Story.

Winner: Rick Story by Submission (Arm Triangle) R2 1:09

Joe Rogan interviews Rich Franklin backstage. Franklin says he’s tired because he hasn’t taken his pre-fight nap yet. Franklin says he’s worked a little with Robbie Lawler because he has a similar style to Belfort.

Lightweight Fight- Efrain Escudero (12-0) vs. Cole Miller (15-3)

Escudero was the TUF 9 winner and this is his first fight since winning TUF. Miller has recent wins over Jorge Gurgel and Junie Browning. Miller is a Jiu Jitsu Black Belt and Efrain has a strong wrestling background. Miller has a 4” height and 2” reach advantage. Based on those stats Escudero should have a strength advantage. Joe says that Escudero struggled to make weight yesterday at the weigh-ins.

R1- Both guys being very tentative early in the fight. Escudero got a sweep of Miller on a kick but let him back up. Miller is started to get more confident and is pushing the action and landing some strikes and really looks like he has more than a 2” reach advantage. Escudero finally caught Miller and slammed him hard to the mat but Miller got back to his feet. Escudero is starting to push the action now and he just leveled Miller with a big right hand that floored him. Escudero jumped on top and hit three punches on the floor and that’s it. Really impressive finish by Escudero.

Winner: Efrain Escudero by TKO (Punches) R1 3:36

Lightweight Fight- Jim Miller vs. Steve Lopez

Jim Miller is coming off of a big decision win over Mac Danzig at UFC 100. Miller’s only losses have come to Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar, both of which I have ranked in the World Top 10 Lightweights.

R1- They open up by both throwing strikes. Miller hit a good right that briefly floored Lopez. Miller landed some good leg kicks. Miller landed a really good left and then jumped all over Lopez but Lopez grabbed the guard and survived the onslaught. Lopez got back to his feet but Miller grabbed a front guillotine choke. Lopez slipped out and Miller pounded him with some Ground and Pound and then took Lopez’s back and then Lopez got him back to full guard. Miller took that round 10-9 and is in control of the fight.

R2- Lopez hurt his shoulder in the second round and you could see the bone popped out of place and he had to verbally submit.

Winner: Jim Miller by TKO R2 0:48

Joe Rogan interviews Vitor Belfort backstage and they talk about the fight tonight. Joe tries to bait him into talking about a possible Anderson Silva fight in the future but Vitor says he’s just taking it one fight at a time right now.

Joe is now with Dana White backstage and they talk about the fights tonight.

[Agent Kev]

UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort
9/19/09
Dallas, Texas
American Airlines Center


Vitor Belfort makes his return tonight against Rich Franklin in a 195 pound catch weight fight. Junior dos Santos will fight Mirko Cro Cop in an important fight in the Heavyweight Division. Josh Koscheck greats Frank Trigg in his return to the Octagon and top Welterweight contender Martin Kampmann will be in action.

Lightweight Fight- Tyson Griffin (13-2) vs. Hermes Franca (20-7)

Tyson Griffin is coming off of a Unanimous Decision win over Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC Fight Night 18. Hermes Franca comes out to the same music Chipper Jones does when he comes to bat (Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne). Franca came in over weight at 159 lbs. Griffin agreed to go ahead with the fight. Tyson Griffin comes out to the theme from Rocky, but it has nowhere near the impact of when Matt Serra used it in his fight against Matt Hughes (although Serra would go on to lose a close decision). Tyson Griffin has had “Fight of the Night” in 5 of his 8 UFC fights, that’s a pretty impressive statistic.

R1- Griffin is landing some strikes early. Griffin got Franca off his feet but he popped right back up. Franca really hasn’t brought any offense in this first round. Griffin wins this round with a comfortable 10-9 but Franca doesn’t look like he’s been hurt. Not sure why he didn’t make weight but he looks lethargic.

R2- Hermes comes out firing wildly to start the second round. Franca grabbed Griffin’s leg on a kick but Griffin was able to strike his way out. Just as I was thinking that Franca looked slow tonight Griffin popped him with a straight right hand. Franca hit the floor and Griffin jumped on top. Griffin landed a bunch of punches and Hermes hung in there for a while but Griffin ended up over powering him for the TKO victory. Good win by Griffin tonight as he came ready to fight and I’m not sure Hermes did.

Winner: Tyson Griffin by TKO (Punches) R1 3:26

Jon Fitch is in attendance at the fights tonight.

UFC 104 is Lyoto Machida defending the UFC Light Heavyweight Title against Shogun Rua on October 24th in Los Angeles. Ben Rothwell will also take on undefeated Cain Velasquez on the under card.

Welterweight Fight- Josh Koscheck (14-4) vs. Frank Trigg (19-6)

Koscheck is in need of a win after falling to Paulo Thiago in an upset and is only 1-2 in his last 3 fights. This is Trigg’s first fight since his return to the UFC. Trigg is fighting out of Xtreme Couture. Trigg comes out to LL Cool J’s “Mama Said Knock You Out”. Koscheck counters with “Higher Ground” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Koscheck has had some time off since his last loss as he has been nursing a broken foot.

R1- Trigg landed a good right early but Josh absorbed the blow nicely. Koscheck caught Trigg with a looping right hand that looked like it may have caught him behind the ear and it knocked Trigg forward. Trigg then stood up and leaned on the cage and Koscheck blasted him with a right hand. Koscheck then started wailing on Trigg against the cage and the ref stopped the fight. Nice showing by Koscheck. Trigg was upset about the stoppage but he looked like he was getting tagged.

Winner: Josh Koscheck by TKO (strikes) R1 1:25

Post-Fight Koscheck says he would like to fight Matt Hughes.

Tito Ortiz is in the crowd.

Welterweight Fight- Martin Kampmann (15-2) vs. Paul Daley (21-8-2)

This fight was originally Kampmann versus Mike Swick but Swick got injured and Daley is filling in. Kampmann won a war at UFC Fight Night 18 in a close decision win versus Carlos Condit. If Kampmann wins he is the most likely next contender to the thrown of GSP. Kampmann is 2-0 in the Welterweight Division. The last time I saw Paul Daley fight was on an Elite XC CBS Show where he tapped out to Jake Shields. Kampmann has a 3” height advantage while Daley has a 4” reach advantage.

R1- Both guys are swinging a lot early and it looked like Daley connected on a couple of his. Kampmann went for a take down but was denied. Daley is looking pretty good so far. Kampmann presses Daley up against the cage and landed a nice knee. Daley landed a nice left and it staggered Kampmann. Daley got Kampmann up against the cage and landed some shots. Kampmann didn’t go down but Yves Lavigne stopped the fight as Kampmann looked like he was out on his feet. Very impressive showing by Daley. Kampmann really needed to get the fight to the ground and he never did. I guess Daley saved Kampmann from a worse beating at the hands of GSP. Looking at the re-play Rogan says that Lavigne should have probably let the fight go for another punch or two but it was a close call.

Winner: Paul Daley by TKO (Strikes) R1 2:31

Mike Swick is in the crowd. The door is open for him now in the Welterweight Division with Kampmann’s loss.

Lightweight Fight- Robert Emerson vs. Rafael Dos Anjos

R1- This fight starts off pretty even in the first round. Dos Anjos went for several take downs but Emerson was able to keep the fight standing until the very send of the round. Dos Anjos took this round 10-9 but it was close.

R2- Dos Anjos is landing some good leg kicks. Emerson is starting to land some punches. Dos Anjos got a take down about half way through the round but Emerson got right up. Dos Anjos continues to land kicks and Emerson is limping from the shots. Dos Anjos is up 20-18 after two rounds.

R3- Dos Anjos landed a good leg kick to start the round and then got a take down. Good fight by Dos Anjos as I’ve got him taking the fight 30-27.

Judges score cards say: 30-27 on all three score cards.

Winner: Rafael Dos Anjos by Decision (Unanimous)

Heavyweight Fight- Mirko Cro Cop (25-6-2) vs. Junior dos Santos (8-1)

dos Santos UFC debut was an upset of Fabricio Werdum that knocked Werdum out of the UFC. I’ve got dos Santos as a Top 10 Heavyweight right now and Cro Cop on the outside looking in. I’m confident in saying that the winner of this fight is a tried and true Top 10 Heavyweight and would be a win away from a potential shot at the UFC Heavyweight Championship. Now I’m doubting myself as to the theme song that Tyson Griffin came out to because dos Santos is coming out to one of the Rocky themes. dos Santos is a Jiu Jitsu purple belt, with good chins that has most of his wins by KO- at least that’s what the UFC graphic tells me. Cro Cop comes out to some Duran Duran. My sister loved that band back in the 80s. I wonder if Cro Cop was a Wild Boy like Simon LeBon when he was younger? dos Santos has a 10 lb and 4” reach advantage on Cro Cop. Cro Cop got the best ovation of the night so far when he was introduced.

R1- dos Santos quickly charged at Cro Cop but Cro Cop clinched him against the cage to avoid damage. Cro Cop threw a high kick but it was blocked. dos Santos landed some punches up against the cage but Cro Cop was able to get out of trouble. dos Santos ran Cro Cop down but Cro Cop clinched him again. dos Santos has sustained a couple of cuts over his eyes. dos Santos takes the first round 10-9 as he was much more aggressive but Cro Cop is definitely still in this fight. I think the longer this fight goes on the more it swings to Cro Cop.

R2- Cro Cop swings a high kick but it’s avoided. dos Santos went in with a flurry and both guys landed strikes during the exchange. Cro Cop missed with another head kick. dos Santos is landing some strikes. Cro Cop nailed dos Santos with a low blow. dos Santos landed a couple of good shots and opened up a cut over Cro Cop’s eye. I’ve got dos Santos up 20-18 after two rounds. This is dos Santos’s first fight that’s been over one round so I think Cro Cop still has a shot at this he just has to finish the fight if he wants to win.

R3- Cro Cop opened up the round more aggressive and landed a solid right hand. dos Santos landed some knees. Cro Cop slipped and dos Santos swung with a left and it might have grazed Cro Cop because he looked a little wobbly after the punch and dos Santos followed with a knee. dos Santos then hit another knee and a punch. dos Santos starting to take over this fight. dos Santos with a big knee and then a left and Cro Cop is in big trouble with three minutes left in the round. dos Santos is hitting knees at will. Cro Cops says he can’t see as his face and eyes are all red and this fight is over. Kind of an anti-climatic finish but a great win for dos Santos over a respected veteran. On the re-play dos Santos hit Cro Cop with a big punch to his eye and that was when Cro Cop verbally submitted.

dos Santos is probably one fight away from a title shot. He’s got victories know over Cro Cop and Fabricio Werdum and both of those guys are legit heavyweights.

Winner: Junior dos Santos by Submission (Verbal) R3 2:00

Catch weight Fight (195 lbs)- Rich Franklin (27-4) vs. Vitor Belfort (18-8)

Franklin is coming off of a close win over Wanderlei Silva in the Main Event of UFC 99. I actually had Wanderlei taking the fight by decision but what do I know as the decision was unanimous in favor of Franklin. Prior to that fight Franklin lost a split decision to Dan Henderson. Franklin is Main Eventing his 3rd event in a row which is very impressive for a guy without a belt. The last two fights of Belfort’s that I saw were both for Affliction. The first was a TKO over Terry Martin and the second was a quick destruction of Matt Lindland back in January. Franklin has landed the 2nd most strikes in UFC history behind GSP. Franklin also succeeds in 71% of his takedown attempts. Belfort won his first 3 UFC fights in under 3 minutes. He has also out struck his opponents 62-23 in his last 4 fights. Belfort has been training at Xtreme Couture and has Shawn Thompkins in his corner for the fight. This is Belfort’s first fight since 2005 when he lost a split decision to Tito Ortiz.

R1- Long feeling out process to start out the fight. So far two minutes gone and not much action. Franklin is trying to push the action but is being very cautious and Vitor is content to counter punch to start. Vitor hit Franklin with a big left uppercut after a right jab and Franklin hit the floor. Belfort jumped on top but the ref stopped the fight and Franklin was not quick to get back to his feet. Vitor made Franklin look really bad in that fight. I’m guessing Dana White is salivating over making a Belfort versus Anderson Silva fight.

Looking at the re-play Vitor actually missed with the big left uppercut and it looked like he hit Franklin on the top of the head with a punch afterwards. He really didn’t look like he connected solidly he just hit Franklin in the right spot.

Winner: Vitor Belfort by KO R1 3:02

Lightweight Fight- Nik Lentz vs. Rafaello Oliveira

Lentz is a training partner of Sean Sherk and this is his UFC debut.

R1- Oliveira went for a take down and Lentz tried for a guillotine but could not lock it in. Lentz quickly got back to his feet. Oliveira landed a goof right hand and then rushed in but Lentz grabbed a guillotine. Oliveira slammed him and Lentz lost the submission on the ground. Both guys threw some leather and then Oliveira got a big slam to take down Lentz. They went back to their feet and Lentz landed some good shots and hurt Oliveira but he survived. Lentz got a take down right at the end of the round. Good first round and Lentz may have stole the round with his performance in the last minute.

R2- Lentz grabbed another guillotine but let hit go. Oliveira spent the second part of the round on top of Lentz. Not a lot of action in this round as Oliveira has really tired since the first round. Looks like we could have a 19-19 fight going into the third round.

R3- Oliveira starts out this round much like he ended the last round by taking the top position. Lentz got a take down about half way through the round. Lentz stays on top and lands some Ground and Pound and rides this one out in top position. I’ve got Lentz as the 29-28 winner in this fight.

Judges score cards say: 29-28, 29-28, 30-27 for Nick Lentz

Winner: Nick Lentz by Decision (Unanimous)