411's UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort Report 9.19.09
Posted by Jeremy Lambert on 09.20.2009
Vitor Belfort made a successful return to the Octagon by knocking out Rich Franklin in the middle of the first round in the main event. Elsewhere, Junior dos Santos stopped MMA legend Mirko "Cro Cop" in the third round with a dominating performance, Paul Daley made an impressive UFC debut stopping Martin Kampmann in the first round, Josh Koscheck spoiled the UFC return of Frank Trigg with a first round stoppage, and Tyson Griffin silence critics with a second round stoppage of Hermes Franca. Click for the full report.
UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort
From The American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas
Live on SpikeTV & PPV
-Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan welcome us to the SpikeTV portion of the show.
-Video preview for McFedries vs. Drwal.
Middleweight Fight: Drew McFedries (8-5) vs. Tomasz Drwal (16-2)
Round One: Uppercut followed by left hand from McFedries. SpikeTV goes crazy for a second but we're back to the action with Drwal pressing McFedries against the cage. They break and square up. Leg kick by Drwal, McFedries counters with a left. Another leg kick by Drwal. Uppercut by McFedries but Drwal eats it and clinches. Takedown by Drwal. McFedries gets to his feet but gives up his back. Drwal on the back standing. Knees to the thighs by Drwal. McFedries spins and gets out. Big exchange won by McFedries. Drwal with a weak shot and McFedries shoves him away. McFedries leans in and swings away. BIG EXCHANGE BY BOTH! Both men hitting hard and giving back. Big right by Drwal. McFedries comes back with a big left. Drwal shoves down McFedries and then tags him with a left on the way up. Drwal gets McFedries down and has side control. He easily moves to mount. 10 seconds left. Drwal looking for the choke. The round ends. 10-9 Drwal.
Round Two: Right followed by a left by Drwal. Drwal clinches and gets McFedries down and right into side control. Drwal moves right to mount. McFedries gives up his back. Drwal sinks in the choke. McFedries taps out.
Official Decision: Thomasz Drwal by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:03 in Round Two
-Drwal said the gameplan was to get the takedown.
Welterweight Fight: Brian Foster (14-3) vs. Rick Story (7-3)
Round One: Both men with a big exchange. More big punches and Story gets dropped to a knee. Foster landing the uppercut but Story surviving. Story gets the takedown and gets side control. Foster turns into him but Story gets the back. Foster stands but Story still has his back on the feet. Story gets him back down to the ground. Story in half guard. Story is cut on the nose. Story moves to side control but Foster scrambles right back to half guard. Foster with good elbows from the bottom but Story with good punches on top. Foster pushes Story away. Story with a diving punch. Foster gets to his feet but Story wrestles him back down. Foster scrambles to his feet and they tag each other with some big punches. Foster just misses with the uppercut. They clinch as the round ends. 10-9 Story.
Round Two: Foster swings high with a head kick. Left hand by Story. Foster looks for a knee to the body but Story grabs it and gets the takedown. Story in guard. Story moves to half guard. Story looking for an arm triangle but he has to get his leg out. Foster taps out. Story had the arm triangle inside the guard of Foster.
Official Decision: Rick Story by Submission (Arm Triangle) at 1:09 in Round Two
-Story says he didn't see some of those punches coming.
-Joe Rogan is backstage with Rich Franklin. Franklin says he hasn't taken his pre-fight nap. Franklin says switching camps and training with Matt Hume has really helped his gameplanning. Franklin thinks he's a better fighter now than he was a few years ago. Franklin says that Robbie Lawler helped mimic Belfort for him in camp.
-Video preview for Escudero vs. Miller
Lightweight Fight: Cole Miller (15-3) vs. Efrain Escudero (12-0)
Round One: Miller using kicks to keep the distance. Right hand grazes Efrain. Double jab by Miller. Big uppercut by Efrain. Efrain catches a body kick and drops him with a punch. Efrain lets him back up. Right hand by Miller. Leg kick by Efrain. Miller avoids a knee in tight. Left hook by Efrain. Miller really using his reach to keep the distance. Efrain ducks a high kick, grabs Miller and slams him. Back on the feet. Left hand stumbles Miller. BIG RIGHT HAND DROPS MILLER! Efrain with another big punch on the ground and Miller is OUT!
Official Decision: Efrain Escudero by KO at 3:36 in Round One
-Efrain says the gameplan was to keep the fight standing.
Lightweight Fight: Jim Miller (14-2) vs. Steve Lopez (12-1)
Round One: They trade jabs. Left hook by Miller followed by a right. Lopez looking for the body shot but missing. Left hook drops Lopez to a knee but he's back up. Miller tagging Lopez as he presses forward. Miller wincing like he got poked in the eye but the fight continues. Miller shoots and Lopez easily sprawls out. High kick by Miller but it's mostly blocked. Big left hand drops Lopez to his knees. Miller moves forward with punches and puts Lopez on his back. Lopez scrambles but gets caught in a standing guillotine. Lopez drops to his knees. Lopez survives but Miller has him on his back and is in guard. Miller postures up and throws down. Good elbow by Miller. Miller stands over Lopez and drops for a leg lock but doesn't get it. Back on the feet. The round ends. 10-9 Miller.
Round Two: Grszing left by Lopez. Jab by Lopez. Good right hand by Lopez but his shoulder pops out and he waves off the fight. His left shoulder popped out as he threw a straight.
Official Decision: Jim Miller by TKO (Injury) at :48 in Round Two
-Joe Rogan is backstage with Vitor Belfort. Belfort is happy to be back in the UFC. Rogan asks him about a possible fight against Anderson Silva but Belfort is only focused on Franklin.
-Rogan moves quickly as he's now speaking with Dana White. Dana thinks Belfort vs. Franklin will be good because both guys like to stand and bang.
-Mike Goldberg commands you to order the PPV.
-That wraps up the SpikeTV portion of the show. We're heading to PPV in just a few moments.
-Gladiator intro.
-Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan are the hosts. Rogan says he wants a 195 pound division. He expects fireworks in Franklin vs. Belfort. They talk about Mirko "Cro Cop" and his struggles in the UFC. Goldberg runs down the rest of the card.
-Video preview for Franca vs. Griffin.
Lightweight Fight: Hermes Franca (20-7) vs. Tyson Griffin (13-2)
Round One: Leg kick by Griffin followed by another. Body shot by Griffin. Griffin with another leg kick. Grazing right by Griffin. Body kick by Griffin. Short left by Griffin and then avoids the big right. Crowd booking. Uppercut by Griffin. Double jab by Griffin. Body shot by Griffin. Good right by Griffin. Left hook staggers Franca but he's up. Franca just looks slow on the feet. More leg kicks by Griffin. The round ends. 10-9 Griffin.
Round Two: Franca with the overhand right just misses. Big counter right by Griffin. Franca with a big knee. Both men swinging wild. Franca catches a body kick and both men swinging as Franca still has the leg of Griffin. More leg kicks by Griffin. Right hand just catches Franca. Uppercut followed by a big right by Griffin. Stiff jab by Griffin. Head kick by Griffin blocked. Griffin really scoring with the jab. Griffin chopping at Franca with leg kicks. Franca just misses with the uppercut. Stiff right hand drops Franca. Griffin pounces on him. BIG GROUND AND POUND. FRANCA IS OUT!
Official Decision: Tyson Griffin by KO at 3:26 in Round Two
-Griffin says that being worried about being knocked out made him fight more patient and crisp.
-Video promo for UFC 104 featuring Lyoto Machida defending the UFC Light Heavyweight title against "Shogun" Rua plus a Heavyweight fight between Cain Velasquez and Ben Rothwell.
-Video preview for Trigg vs. Koscheck.
Welterweight Fight: Frank Trigg (19-6) vs. Josh Koscheck (14-4)
Round One: Both miss with the right. Straight left by Trigg. Body shot by Koscheck. Uppercut by Koscheck. Big right hand by Koscheck drops Trigg. Koscheck pounds him out and the ref stops it.
-Trigg is upset with the stoppage. On replay the stoppage looks good as Trigg was eating unanswered blows.
Official Decision: Josh Koscheck by TKO at 1:25 in Round One
-Koscheck calls out Matt Hughes and then says, "I'll fight every month."
-Video preview for Kampmann vs. Daley.
Welterweight Fight: Paul Daley (21-8-2) vs. Martin Kampmann (15-2)
Round One: Both just miss on the exchange. Jab by Kampmann and just misses with the right. Left hook by Daley. Kampmann grabs a single, Daley shrugs him off and then lands a big right. Left hook by Daley. Daley landing the bigger punches. Another big left by Daley. Big left by Daley answered with a right by Kampmann. They clinch with Daley against the cage. Big knee by Kampmann. Big left stumbles Kampmann. More big punches by Daley. Kampmann is out on his feet. The ref stops the fight.
-Kampmann is a bit upset with the stoppage but he was clearly out on his feet. On replay Kampmann looks to be conscious but he looked out live.
Official Decision: Paul Daley by TKO at 2:31 in Round One
-Daley is happy with his performance.
Lightweight Fight (Prelim Fight): Rob Emerson vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Round One: Inside leg kick by Anjos. Over the top left by Anjos. Anjos shoots, Emerson stuffs, but they clinch. Emerson pushes away. Emerson pressing forward but coming up short with his punches. Good right by Emerson. Leg kick by Anjos. Straight right by Emerson. Anjos answers with a straight left. More inside leg kicks by Anjos. Anjos shoots and Emerson sprawls. Punches coming up just short by both men. More inside leg kicks by Anjos. Good uppercut by Anjos. Anjos shoots and has a double. Emerson pressed against the cage. Anjos has a single and drags the fight to the ground. Anjos in guard. Good elbows by Anjos. 10 seconds left. The round ends. 10-9 dos Anjos.
Round Two: Inside leg kick by Anjos. Emerson responds with a leg kick of his own. Anjos just chopping down Emerson with the inside leg kicks. Emerson scoring with the right. Anjos shoots, Emerson sprawls. Left hook, right uppercut for Emerson. Anjos shoots and has a single. Anjos gets him down but Emerson pops right back up. Jab by Emerson. Sprawl by Emerson. Emerson has no answer for the inside leg kick. Emerson landing the right straight. Anjos countering with the left hook. Emerson wincing every time Anjos lands the inside leg kick. They clinch. Anjos lands a left on the break as the round ends. 10-9 dos Anjos.
Round Three: Anjos going with the inside leg kick right away. Anjos shoots, Emerson sprawls but Anjos still has a double. Anjos gets the takedown. Anjos in half guard. Emerson gets full guard. Good ground and pound by Anjos. Anjos passes to half guard as Emerson tries to push away to his feet. Anjos passes to side control. Emerson scrambles and gets to his feet. Emerson has Anjos against the cage. Anjos reverses the position. Anjos drops to a single but can't get the takedown. They separate. Anjos scoring with the counter left and still destroying the inside leg of Emerson. Emerson swinging wildly. The round ends. 10-9 dos Anjos.
Official Decision: Rafael dos Anjos by Unanimous Decision (30-27 across)
-Video preview for "Cro Cop" vs. dos Santos.
Heavyweight Fight: Junior dos Santos (8-1) vs. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipnovic (25-6-2, 1 NC)
Round One: Santos pressing forward. Quick clinch and break. Right hand by Santos. Body shot by Santos. Head kick misses by Mirko. Right hand followed by a left by Santos. Mirko survives.Uppercut by Santos. They clinch. Knees to the body by both. They break. Another clinch. They trade knees to the body. They break. Santos looking for the uppercut. Left straight staggers Santos. Another left as Santos comes in. Santos is cut over the eye. Another clinch. They trade knees. Another straight left by Mirko. The round ends. Close round. 10-9 dos Santos.
Round Two: Head kick misses by Mirko. Leg kick by Mirko. Left hook by Santos. Mirko counters with the left straight. Body shots by Santos. Mirko scoring with the left. Uppercut by Santos. Santos scoring with the left hook-right uppercut. Swing and miss on the head kick by Mirko. Body shots by Santos. More body shots by Santos. Short left by Mirko. They clinch and quickly break. Knee by Santos. Mirko catches Santos with a kick to the groin. Santos takes a rest but is ready to go again. Right hand by Santos. Mirko is cut over the eye. Body kick by Santos. The round ends. 10-9 dos Santos.
Round Three: Left hand by Mirko. Santos answers with the right. They trade lefts. Body shots by Santos. Leg kick by Mirko. Knee to the body by Santos. Left hook staggers Mirko. Another knee to the body. Right hand by Santos. Another knee to the body. Uppercut by Santos. Mirko is wobbly. Thai clinch by Santos. Knees to the body. Mirko says he can't see. Santos starts celebrating but nothing is official. Finally the ref waves off the fight. Weird ending and very anti-climatic.
-On the replay it looks like Santos busted the eye of Mirko with an uppercut in the clinch.
Official Decision: Junior dos Santos by TKO at 2:00 in Round Three
-dos Santos says he'll fight whoever.
-Franklin has landed the 2nd most strikes in UFC history and has succeeded on 71% of his takedowns. Belfort has outstruck last 4 opponents 62-23 and won his first three UFC fights in under 3 minutes. 59% of fans think Franklin will win.
-Video preview for Belfort vs. Franklin.
Catchweight (195lb) Fight (Main Event): Vitor Belfort (18-8) vs. Rich Franklin (27-4, 1 NC)
Round One: Slow start. Leg kick by Belfort. Right just misses from Belfort. Body kick caught by Belfort. Franklin pulls away. An exchange just misses by both. Franklin short on his punches. Left hand drops Franklin. Belfort pounces on him. BIG LEFT HANDS! FRANKLIN IS OUT!
Official Decision: Vitor Belfort by KO at 3:02 in Round One
-Belfort says that Anderson Silva is his friend but he'll fight him if asked.
-Franklin says he's a little scrambled right now. "Losing wasn't part of my plan."
Lightweight Fight (Prelim Fight): Rafaello Oliveira Vs. Nik Lentz
Round One: Leg kicks by Lentz. Clinch and knee to the body by Oliveira. Oliveira gets the takedown by Lentz grabs a guillotine. Oliveira is out. Lentz gets to his feet. Big right hand stumbles Lentz. Oliveira rushes in. Lentz gets a guillotine on a takedown but Oliveira survives again. On the feet. Big exchange that Oliveira wins but Lentz gets in good shots. Big takedown by Oliveira. Oliveira in guard. Hammerfists from the bottom by Lentz. Lentz constantly looking for the guillotine. Lentz gets to his feet. Right hand and a left stumbles Oliveira. Big exchange that Lentz wins. Right hand by Oliveira. Left hand by Lentz and then he gets the takedown. Lentz stands in guard as the round ends. 10-9 Lentz.
Round Two: Body kicks by Lentz. One-two by Oliveira. Lentz with a one-two of his own. Oliveira rushing forward and Lentz gets the takedown. Lentz backs away and they're on the feet. Lentz likes to throw the head kick but no power behind it. Body kick by Lentz. Leg kick by Oliveira. Both scoring with the jab. They clinch. Knees by Lentz. Right hand by Lentz on the break. Oliveira with a right of his own. Lentz grabs a guillotine on the takedown. Oliveira in guard. Lentz active off his back looking for the guillotine and scoring with hammerfists. Lentz rolls out and is in the guard of Oliveira. Oliveira sweeps back into the guard of Lentz. Lentz rolls out again and gets to his feet. Lentz pressing forward. Body kick by Lentz as the round ends. Close round. 10-9 Lentz.
Round Three: Leg kick by Lentz. Big exchange where both men connect. Takedown by Oliveira. Good punches on top by Oliveira. Elbows from the bottom by Lentz. Right hand ground and pound by Oliveira. Lentz gets to his feet. Right hand by Oliveira. Leg kick by Lentz. Lentz gets an easy takedown. Lentz in half guard. Lentz pulls away as Oliveira rolls for a leg lock. Body shots by Lentz on top. Lentz in guard. Lentz passes to half guard. Oliveira turns into him. Big right hands by Lentz. Elbow by Lentz. Lentz stands in the guard of Oliveira then drops down as the round ends. 10-9 Lentz.
-Rounds one and two were close.
Official Decision: Nik Lentz by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
-They show the Ricky Story vs. Brian Foster fight that already aired on SpikeTV.
-Submission of the night went to Rick Story. Turning point of the night went to Junior dos Santos.
-Joe Rogan thinks that Mirko should, "wrap it up." He follows that up with, "who am I to tell Mirko when to stop fighting?" and then suggests that Mirko should go to 205. Goldberg and Rogan wrap up the show.
Rogan was retarded tonight, between showing his bias in favor of Cro Cop and also by claiming that Foster (earlier in the fight before the arm triangle) "didn't have control of Story's legs", when it was clear to see from two different camera angles that Foster did in fact have Story in a pretty well-cinched half-guard that he worked to maintain. I thought Rogan was supposed to be a BJJ guy?
Posted By: Wyatt Beougher (Guest) on September 20, 2009 at 01:43 AM
Well, I thought Cro Cop would show he had something left in the tank, but I stand corrected. It doesn't really look like it. It wasn't like Dos Santos looked leagues better though; he got caught with Mirko's left often and his face is evidence of it. I can't help but think if he gets hit with a fist much heavier and harder than Cro Cop's, the results will be far worse.
But man, Mirko just looks slow, tired, and as if he doesn't even WANT to be fighting. Half of the fight was him just pushing Dos Santos away...wtf? Hit him!
Vitor knocked Franklin silly like I thought he would. Silva/Belfort, please.
Posted By: Guest#7866 (Guest) on September 20, 2009 at 01:44 AM
Damn good stuff all round.
Posted By: Brad (Guest) on September 20, 2009 at 01:55 AM
This PPV sucked......UFC is going down the drain.
Posted By: Guest#2470 (Guest) on September 20, 2009 at 02:20 AM
I knew Cro Cop wasn't going to walk out a winner when the first round went by with only a single (missed) kick attempt. If the kick is his big weapon (and it had to be in a fight where he looked outmatched in striking) then he should have been setting it up. Toss some kicks to the leg or body in there, instead of just going for head kicks!
Posted By: Rod Oracheski (Registered) on September 20, 2009 at 04:32 AM
This PPV sucked......UFC is going down the drain.
Posted By: Guest#2470 (Guest) on September 20, 2009 at 02:20 AM
Sure it is.
Posted By: Brian (Guest) on September 20, 2009 at 07:33 AM
only 2 fights went to decision .....good show.
Posted By: Guest#4348 (Guest) on September 20, 2009 at 08:46 AM
btw is it just me or does it look lik Kos has matured finally?
Posted By: Paul (Guest) on September 20, 2009 at 12:14 PM
"This PPV sucked......UFC is going down the drain. "
Too many KO's, I'd rather see decisions than seeing people keel over and almost reach the gates of St. Peter....very barbaric
Posted By: Guest#6637 (Guest) on September 20, 2009 at 01:18 PM
Wyatt Beougher, Joe Rogan knows more about BJJ than you ever will.
Posted By: Guest#4076 (Guest) on September 20, 2009 at 02:48 PM
Jardine Vs Franklin make it happen UFC
Posted By: Guest#6972 (Guest) on September 20, 2009 at 05:13 PM
wonder how many buys this ppv got considering the mayweather fight was on
Posted By: Guest#1725 (Guest) on September 20, 2009 at 05:29 PM
I thought Franklin was hit at least twice with an illegal blow to the back of the head. I'm not going to lie, I'm not exactly sure on the rules, but I thought that wasn't allowed. The first one was the one that dropped Franklin...may have been side, but looked like the back of the head to me
Posted By: Ser Drake (Guest) on September 20, 2009 at 11:11 PM
I thought Franklin was hit at least twice with an illegal blow to the back of the head. I'm not going to lie, I'm not exactly sure on the rules, but I thought that wasn't allowed. The first one was the one that dropped Franklin...may have been side, but looked like the back of the head to me
Posted By: Ser Drake (Guest) on September 20, 2009 at 11:11 PM
He got caught in the temple with the shot that put him down. Then while he was down Vitor tagged him in the back of the head at least one time maybe more.
Posted By: Guest#8014 (Guest) on September 21, 2009 at 09:56 AM
When Franklin goes down, you can see that he get hit with a strong left from Vitor right on the side of his face/chin. The original angle makes it tough to see, but you can see his head snap during the replays, before Belfort switches to Rich's left side and nails him a few more times before he gets pulled off. I think that's the shot that put Rich out. The knock-down wasn't really there. I just think Rich tried to dodge the looping left that grazed him and he fell back which put him in a horribel position.
The Cro Cop fight was a big disappointment. He looked tentative and hesitant. He didn't capitalize on the solid lefts that he kept landing, he had no set up for his trademark head kick, and he did next to nothing to work either the body or legs of Dos Santos. It really looked like he didn't want to have anything to do with the fight. Like people say, some people can fight in the cage, some can't. Mirko has proven yet again that the UFC is not the place for him.
Story/Foster was good! I thought that Story could have had the arm triangle in the first round when he wrapped his arm behind Foster's head, but he wasn't really in the best position for it. When he did dink it in, I think he was laying so far up on Foster, that when Foster pulled the full guard he did himself in. Pulling guard increased the torque of the triangle as Story was still laying somewhat across Foster and not on the choke side as usual. You could see he was doing "ok" in it until that point. After he got the full guard, that's when you see him go purple.
If Franca never fights in the UFC again, I can't say I'll miss him. Dude looked a *lot* heavier than just the 4 and a half pounds he weighed in over. Then he still proceeded to act like he was Joe-Bob Badass during the pre-fight and introductions. Have a little class and humility. You're lucky to be fighting at all, don't go into "full-swagger" mode. I've always like Tyson Griffin and even more so now for finishing that jackass. I hope Joe Silva and Dana cut his ass.
Did anyone else catch the guy with the signs as the fighters came to the ring? At one point he held up one that said "Rampage vs. Tito." Can you imagine the amount of smacktalk preceding that fight? That would be some entertainment right there!
Posted By: hg dragon (Guest) on September 21, 2009 at 11:03 AM
