UFC 115: Liddell vs. Franklin

UFC 115: Liddell vs. Franklin
GM Place
Vancouver, British Columbia
June 12, 2010

The Main Event tonight is Chuck Liddell fighting Rich Franklin. As you know, it was originally supposed to be Chuck versus Tito Ortiz but Tito withdrew and had surgery and Rich stepped in to take Tito's spot as TUF coach and his spot in this fight. There are some other intriguing fights on this card. Cro Crop versus Pat Barry, Martin Kampann against Paulo Thiago, Ben Rothwell fights Gilbert Yvel and Carlos Condit is in action against Rory MacDonald. As usual, Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan handle the announcing and Bruce Buffer is the ringer announcer.

Welterweight Fight- Carlos Condit (24-5) vs. Rory MacDonald (10-0)

MacDonald is only 20 years old and is the youngest fighter in the UFC. MacDonald is 1-0 inside the Octagon. Condit is a former WEC Champion. Condit is 1-1 in the UFC with two wars against Martin Kampmann and Jake Ellenberger. Condit trains with Greg Jackson. Will it be youth or experience tonight? MacDonald is Canadian so he gets a huge ovation when announced.

R1- MacDonald quickly caught a Condit kick and took him down but let him back up. MacDonald tried to measure Condit with some shots but came up empty. Fans chant "Rory". MacDonald got a take down inside of the first minute. Condit lands some good strikes to the face from the bottom. Condit got back to his feet without taking any damage and actually controlling the situation from his back. MacDonald swung for the fences and Condit landed a good right counter that wobbled MacDonald. MacDonald landed a couple of strikes that took Condit to the fence and then MacDonald got another take down. Condit again got to his feet without taking any damage. Condit is landing some good kicks. MacDonald got a take down to end the round. MacDonald got 3 take downs but didn't do anything with them. I give the round to Condit because he delivered more damage on the ground and landed the best shot on their feet. It was close but I've got Condit 10-9. Rogan says he gave the round to MacDonald based on take downs.

R2- Condit tried for a take down but MacDonald ended up on top. Condit again gets to his feet without any damage. Condit missed a superman punch and MacDonald tried for a take down but Condit reversed it and ended up on top. MacDonald was able to kick out and ended up on top. Condit again defended and landed more strikes from the bottom and got back to his feet without taking any damage. Fans chant "Let's Go Rory." MacDonald landed a good combination in a near clinch situation. MacDonald landed a good counter front kick right at the end of the round. Both guys went for front kicks, Condit actually connected with Rory's face but Rory caught Condit's arm which knocked him off balance and knocked him down. MacDonald takes this round so I've got it at 19-19 on the score card. Good fight so far, Condit needs to be more aggressive. I've said this before in his UFC fights, but it almost feels like he's fighting a 5-Round fight.

R3- MacDonald hit a head kick that didn't fully connected in the early part of the round. MacDonald is throwing bombs but Condit is blocking them. Condit hit MacDonald with a 2-punch combination that hurt and MacDonald immediately went for the take down. Condit went for a kimura and ended up on top. Condit lands a couple of good elbows. MacDonald is cut open. Condit gets mount but then MacDonald gets him back in half guard. Condit lands more elbows. MacDonald gets back to his feet. MacDonald went for a take down and Condit easily reversed. MacDonald looks really tired or he's hurt. Rogan says it looks like something is wrong with MacDonald's eye, says it's possibly an orbital break. Condit continues to pressure MacDonald and land strikes. The ref steps in and stops the fight with about 10 seconds left in the fight. Great fight. Rogan says there is definitely something wrong with MacDonald's eye. MacDonald showed a lot of heart and at 20 years old he has a lot of life left in the UFC. Good win by Condit, he showed the killer instinct in the 3rd round that he needs to show earlier.

Winner: Carlos Condit by TKO (Strikes) R3 4:53

Heavyweight Fight- Gilbert Yvel (36-14-1) vs. Ben Rothwell (30-7)

30 of Yvel's 36 wins have come by way of knock out. Yvel fought at UFC 108 but he was stopped in that fight by Junior dos Santos. Rothwell has a 2" height, 3" reach and 21 pound advantage in this fight. Rothwell is coming off of a loss to Cain Velsaquez so both guys are coming off losses to top tier UFC Heavyweights. Yves Lavigne is the ref and gets some boos after his poor stoppage earlier on Spike TV.

R1- Rothwell charges right at Yvel and back him down throwing strikes. Yvel separates and grabs a guillotine and pulls guard but Rothwell easily gets out of it and takes side control. Yvel flips him over, Rothwell got back to his feet and slammed Yvel back down. Rothwell gets full mount and throws some elbows. Yvel goes for a leg lock but Rothwell spun out of it. Rothwell got Yvel in a crucifix but Yvel flipped him over and got to his feet. Yvels landed some good strikes. Good round. Yvel finished strong but I've got Rothwell taking the round 10-9.

R2- Rothwell immediately got a take down to start the round. Rothwell lands some good elbows. Yvel got back to his feet at the mid-way point of the round. Rothwell got another take down at the two minute mark. Yvel flipped him over and threw some good strikes from the top. Yvel is connecting and Rothwell tries to clinch him but Yvel breaks free and continues to land some good shots. Rothwell got back to his feet with a minute left in the round and took Yvel down again. Rothwell finished the round on top. Give Yvel this round due to damage inflicted and I've got it 19-19 going into the third.

R3- Yvel went for a take down but got taken down. Rothwell spends the majority of the round on top of Yvel. Rothwell is going to take this round and the fight 29-28.

Judges score cards: 30-27. 29-28, 29-28

Winner: Ben Rothwell by Decision (Unanimous)

Welterweight Fight- Paulo Thiago (13-1) vs. Martin Kampmann (16-3)

Kampmann is coming off of a win at UFC 108 on the preliminaries against Jacob Volkmann by submission. Kampmann has won 3 of his last 4 including a decision win over Carlos Condit. Thiago fought at UFC 109 and choked out Mike Swick in the 2nd round. Thiago also holds a victory over title contender Josh Koscheck. The winner of this fight probably sets themselves up for a title contenders fight since GSP and Koscheck are doing TUF and they won't be fighting for a while. Thiago has a 2.5" reach advantage.

R1- Kampmann lands some strikes early. Kampmann is landing some good jabs. Kampmann landed a good right hand and knocked down Thiago with 90 seconds left in the round. Thiago retaliated by getting a trip and take down. Kampmann grabbed a guillotine and used it to get to his feet. Kmapmann went for another choke against the cage but Thiago used his legs to kick off the cage and get out of the choke. Kampmann 10-9.

R2- Thiago is just throwing haymakers but is not connecting. Kampmann got a take down at the mid-way point of the round. Thiago used a kimura to sweept Kampmann over but there is only 30 seconds left in the round. Kampmann got back to his feet and landed a couple of knees. Kampmann 20-18.

R3- Kampmann landed a counter jab and then got a take down in the first minute of the final round. Kampmann went for an arm triangle and Thiago gave up his back and was able to avoid the submission. Kampmann stayed on top of Thiago. Thiago finally got back to his feet with about 80 seconds left. Thiago threw a bomb but Kampmann took him down again. Kampmann goes for another arm triangle. Kampmann almost finished the fight but not quite. Kampmann wins this fight 30-27.

Judges score cards: 30-27 on all 3 score cards

Winner: Martin Kampmann by Decision (Unanimous)

Heavyweight Fight- Mirko Cro Cop (26-7-2) vs. Pat Barry (5-1)

Cro Cop fought Junior dos Santos in late 2009 and verbally submitted. Barry fought at UFC 104 and beat Antoni Hardonk by TKO in the 2nd round. Cro Cop is one of Barry's idol's. Cro Cop needs some new theme music, Duran Duran just doesn't cut it.

R1- Barry is very aggressive from the outset and landed a good shot that knocked Cro Cop down 30 seconds into the fight. Barry is landing some good leg kicks. Cro Cop returns the favor with some kicks of his own. Barry hit a good right that floored Cro Cop again. Rogan says he thinks Cro Cop broke his jaw. Cro Cop got a brief take down but Barry got back to his feet. Barry 10-9.

R2- Barry partially connected with a head kick but it was just a glancing blow and Cro Cop was able to take him down. Cro Cop got the mount and Barry gave up his back. Cro Cop takes this round and we are at 19-19 going into the final stanza.

R3- Not a lot of action in this round. Cro Cop clinched against the cage for a while and then the ref re-started them and Cro Cop backed Barry down and landed some strikes. Cro Cop knocked Barry down and jumped on top and delivered some Ground and Pound. Cro Cop clamped in a Rear Naked Choke and won the fight in the last minute. Barry just tired out and Cro Cop outlasted him. Good win by Cro Cop.

Winner: Mirko Cro Cop by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R3 4:30

Light Heavyweight Fight- Chuck Liddell (21-7) vs. Rich Franklin (27-5)

Chuck Liddell has changed his lifestyle going into this fight. He's training more and in different areas of his game, he's given up alcohol and he's been resting. It will be interesting to see how he matches up with Rich.

R1-Chuck is landing some leg kicks early. Just lands a body kick and just missed a head kick as it as partially blocked. Rich hit a good right but Chuck landed a good shot during a clinch. Chuck got a take down two minutes into the round. Rich got back to his feet and Chuck has been cut open (not sure how it happened). Chuck caught Rich with a punch that almost knocked him down. Chuck lands a couple more strikes. Chuck landed a partial head kick and moved in quickly. He slipped and Rich hit a couple of small shots. They clinched with 10 seconds left in the round. Chuck pushed off and threw a couple of punches. Chuck threw a big right and missed. Rich countered with a right hand that hit Chuck right on the button and ended his night with 7 seconds left in the round. Chuck looked pretty good until those last 10 seconds. Big time punch by Rich Franklin.

"You've gotta expect this is the last time we see Chuck Liddell in the Octagon"- Joe Rogan
"I was just thinking the same thing"- Mike Goldberg

Winner: Rich Franklin by KO R1 4:55

Franklin says that Chuck broke Rich's left hand in the first round when he threw and landed a body kick.

Welterweight Fight- Mike Pyle vs. Jesse Lennox

R1- Pyle landed some good shots at the end of the round and floored Lennox. Pyle jumped on top and tried for a choke but couldn't finish before the bell rung. Pyle 10-9.

R2- Pyle went for a take down and didn't get it but he was able to spin around and take top position from Lennox. Pyle stayed on top for the round and took it. Pyle 20-18.

R3- Lennox came on strong at the end of the round and landed some shots around the one minute mark. Pyle clinched him but Lennox got a take down. Lennox is cut open bad. Pyle got a triangle choke and finished the fight. Good finish from the bottom by Pyle.

Winner: Mike Pyle by Triangle Choke R3 4:44