UFC 103 Recap

September 21, 2009 | Tim | Comments 0

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UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort wasn’t one of the most hyped UFC events of the year, but it delivered solid action and perhaps presented middleweight champion Anderson Silva with a legitimate challenger.

On the preliminary card, Rafael dos Anjos showed why the UFC kept him around after an 0-2 start with the company by defeating Rob Emerson by unanimous decision. The majority of the fight took place standing, and dos Anjos controlled much of the action with some vicious leg kicks. The fact that Emerson was still able to stand at the end of the third round is a credit to his toughness. Dos Anjos now moves to 1-2 in the organization, while Emerson drops to 2-2.

Vladimir Matyushenko’s return to the UFC was a successful one, as he defeated Igor Pokrajac by unanimous decision. Jim Miller improved to an impressive 4-1 in a stacked lightweight division by beating UFC newcomer Steve Lopez, though the finish wasn’t how he wanted it. Lopez dislocated his left shoulder while throwing a punch early in the 2nd round. The injury forced an end to the bout, and Miller was awarded the TKO victory.

For the first time, the UFC showed preliminary fights free on Spike TV. In the first of the televised fights, Tomasz Drwal and Drew McFedries slugged it out throughout the first round. Early in the 2nd round however, it was Drwal getting the better of the striking with a left hand that dazed McFedries. The fight moved to the ground where Drwal got the side mount and submitted McFedries rather quickly with a choke. The win improved Drwal’s UFC record to 3-1, while McFedries dropped to 4-5 in the UFC.

In the other fight shown on Spike, former The Ultimate Fighter winner Efrain Escudero was impressive in a first round victory over Cole Miller. The round started slowly, but Escudero eventually connected with a solid right hand that knocked Miller down. Escudero followed up with more shots before the fight was stopped about three and a half minutes into the round. Escudero’s UFC record improves to 2-0, while he remains undefeated overall at 13-0. Miller drops to 4-2 in the UFC with the loss.

The pay-per-view began with lightweights Hermes Franca and Tyson Griffin. Franca missed weight and didn’t look too sharp in the early going. Griffin seemed quicker to the punch in a first round that primarily took place standing. Early in the 2nd, Griffin seemed to get Franca’s timing down as he was able to dodge Franca’s punches and find holes for his own. Midway through the 2nd, Griffin connected on a big right hand that dropped Franca. The finish came soon after with Griffin dropping more shots down on Franca. Griffin stopped an opponent for only the 2nd time in his nine UFC fights, but it was an impressive stoppage. The win moves Griffin to 7-2 in the UFC and 14-2 overall, and establishes him as a serious contender in the UFC’s lightweight division. Meanwhile, Franca drops to 6-5 in the UFC and has lost three of his past four fights.

Josh Koscheck ruined Frank Trigg’s UFC return with a violent TKO of the former welterweight contender. Just over a minute into the first round, Koscheck connected on a right hand that dropped Trigg. Follow up shots forced an end to the fight, though Trigg complained it was an early stoppage. It wasnt. Trigg wasn’t defending himself and Koscheck was landing bombs. Trigg has likely fought for the last time in the UFC, as UFC president Dana White said after the pay-per-view that Trigg would likely be released. Meanwhile Koscheck rebounds from a shocking loss to Paulo Thiago at UFC 95 and puts himself back in the fringe of title contention in the UFC’s wild welterweight division.

Speaking of the welterweight division, Martin Kampmann and Mike Swick were supossed to fight to determine Georges St. Pierre’s next challenger. However, Swick had to pull out of the fight due to an injury, forcing UFC newcomer Paul Daley to take his place againste Kampmann. Kampmann was expected to get the title shot with the victory, but Daley made sure that wouldn’t happen. He blasted Kampmann early and often with big lefts, and Kampmann was never able to really regain his composure. The end of the fight came only two and a half minutes into the first round. Kampmann was never knocked down, but it was clear that the cage was the only thing holding him up as Daley kept landing shots. The impressive performance from Daley certainly earned him a fight with another top contender, while Kampmann will drop down and try to work his way back up to title contention. Georges St. Pierre’s next challenger is still to be determined.

Junior Dos Santos may have ended Mirko Cro Cop’s UFC career, and perhaps his MMA career as well, with a dominating performance in the co-main event of the evening. Dos Santos clearly won the first two rounds as he was quicker to attack than Cro Cop and controlled much of the action. Mirko barely threw any of his patented high kicks, and the few he did throw missed badly. Dos Santos really started putting the pressure on in the 3rd round, and connected on a punch directly on Mirko’s left eye. Cro Cop said he couldn’t see and the fight was stopped. Dos Santos moves to an impressive 3-0 in the UFC, while Mirko’s UFC record now stands at a disappointing 2-3. After the fight, Cro Cop hinted at retirement, and Dana White pretty much stated that Mirko wouldn’t fight for the UFC any longer.

In the night’s main event, Vitor Belfort didn’t fight like the Vitor of old, but instead like a new-and-improved version in his win over Rich Franklin. The first half of the first round was spent with the fighter’s circling around, looking for an opening. Finally, they engaged, and Belfort connected with a left hook that appeared to hit Franklin on his temple or above his right ear. Franklin went down and Befort followed up with another left that pretty much knocked Rich out cold. Belfort connected with a few shots directly to the back of Franklin’s head, but even though they were most likely illegal shots, they had no impact on the fight. Even without those shots, the fight would have been stopped. Franklin drops to 26-5 overall and 12-4 in the UFC, while Belfort improves to 19-8 with an 8-4 mark inside the Octagon. Next up for Belfort may be a date with UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. In the post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White implied that Belfort may get the next shot at Silva, while Dan Henderson and Nate Marquardt may have to square off to determine who would challenge for the title after Belfort. Vitor looks like a completely different fighter than he did earlier in his UFC career. He’s much more patient and fights much smarter. Training with the guys at Xtreme Couture seems to have improved his overall game and his fight plan. He looks to be an intriguing and dangerous challenger to Anderson Silva’s reign atop the UFC’s middleweight division. For Franklin, a permanent move to the UFC’s 205 pound division is likely, with fights against guys like Keith Jardine or Forrest Griffin possible.

FULL RESULTS:

Vitor Belfort def. Rich Franklin via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:02

Junior Dos Santos def. Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic via submission (verbal) – Round 3, 2:00

Paul Daley def. Martin Kampmann via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:31

Josh Koscheck def. Frank Trigg via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:25

Tyson Griffin def. Hermes Franca via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 3:26

Efrain Escudero def. Cole Miller via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:36

Tomasz Drwal def. Drew McFedries via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:03

Jim Miller def. Steve Lopez via TKO (injury) – Round 2, 0:48

Nick Lentz def. Rafaello Oliveira via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Rick Story def. Brian Foster via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 1:09

Eliot Marshall def. Jason Brilz via split decision (30-28, 27-30, 30-27)