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

UFC 108 Preliminaries Re-Cap

UFC 108: Preliminaries
Spike TV
1/02/10
MGM Grand
Las Vegas, Nevada

Lightweight Fight- Cole Miller (15-4) vs. Dan Lauzon (12-2)

R1- Miller hit some good strikes in the first minute of the fight but then got caught by a big shot by Dan and was floored. Cole Miller ended up getting a submission near the end of the first round. Solid fight.

Winner: Cole Miller by Submission (Kimura/Reverse Triangle) R1 3:05

Welterweight Fight- Mike Pyle vs. Jake Ellenberger (21-5)

R1- Ellenberger got a quick take down. Ellenberger stayed on top until the 1:30 mark but Pyle didn’t let him do anything. Ellenberger got another take down quickly after they stood back up. Ellenberger ended the round with some good Ground and Pound to cement the round in his favor.

R2- Ellenberger landed a big shot and Pyle hit the mat and covered up and Ellenberger threw Ground and Pound until the ref called it off. Good win for Ellenberger, I was impressed with him in his loss to Carlos Condit and he proved he belonged in the UFC in this fight.

Winner: Jake Ellenberger by TKO (Strikes) R1 0:22

Welterweight Fight- Martin Kampmann (15-3) vs. Jacob Volkmann (9-1)

R1- Kampmann looks a little tentative after the Daley fight. Volkmann landed some good shots but Kampmann countered with a punch that briefly floored Volkmann. Kampmann has a cut above one of his eyes. Volkmann charges in again and lands some shots but Kampmann again counter punches and floors Volkmann at the half way mark of the round. Kampmann landed some good Ground and Pound at the one minute mark and then clamped on a guillotine choke and Volkmann tapped out. Good showing for Kampmann after the Daley loss.

Winner: Martin Kampmann by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R1 4:03

Middleweight Fight- Mark Munoz (6-1) vs. Ryan Jensen (15-4)

R1- Jensen went for a knee and got taken down at the end of the first minute but he couldn’t hold Jensen down. Munoz got another take down at the end of the second minute of the round. Munoz landed some good Ground and Pound. Jensen rolled over on his stomach and Munoz pounded him out.

Winner: Mark Munoz by Submission (Strikes) R1 2:30

Joe Rogan and Dana White review the card of Rashad Evans/Thiago Silva. Rogan and White put over the Gilbert Yvel and Junior dos Santos match and really hype it up. Paul Daley/Dustin Hazlett is also hyped up but they didn’t mention Daley missing weight. Rogan calls Daley the best technical striker in MMA. Rogan mentions that Rashad was just given his black belt in BJJ today. Rogan interviews Rashad Evans before the show ends.

Affliction Banned 7/19 PPV Re-Cap

Affliction Banned PPV

Affliction is really throwing money at this PPV as they have Michael Buffer doing the ring announcing and Megadeth starting off the show playing on stage. The music isn't very good but they have the fighters walking through the stage towards the ring and lining up on the stage which is a cool visual.

Jay Glazer and Frank Trigg are the two announcers. As i've previously stated they could have really used a Mauro Ranallo, Mike Goldberg and/or Lon McEachern type guy to anchor the broadcast.

Welterweight Fight- Mike Pyle (16-5-1) vs. JJ Ambrose(9-1)

R1- Pyle gets a take down about a minute into the fight and quickly mounts. Ambrose gives up his back. Pyle is just getting dominated and Pyle taps him quickly. Definitely a mismatch here. Very Elite XC squash feel to this fight to start off the night. Pyle looked good but Ambrose was fighting outside of his talent level. Good fight to put Pyle over for the next show, not so much for Ambrose as he didn't even contend. Decent opener as I'm sure that they didn't want to start out with a fight like Goodridge/Buentello had or have a fight go the distance to begin the first PPV.

Winner: Mike Pyle by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 2:51

Light Heavyweight Fight- Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (13-3) vs. Edwin Dewees (35-12)

Frank Trigg says that Dewees is over matched going into this fight. Not much of a way to make me want to see them fight. This Nogueira is the brother of the UFC Heavyweight Champ.

R1- Slow start with Dewees hitting some leg kicks and circling Nog. Nog finally gets a take down (more like Dewees fell into the ropes and Nog took advantage). Nog got some shots in but then let Dewees back up. Nog gets a Muy Thai clinch and gets some shots in and then starts leveling Dewees in the corner and lights him up and lands more shots on him on the ground and Herb Dean stops the fight. Another match that felt like a "showcase" for one fighter and not really a competitive fight. Nothing wrong with that as long as they follow up at some point by giving these guys better fights. The only thing is that Ambrose and Dewees kind of come off as jobbers by not putting up much of a fight.

Winner: Antonio Rogerio Nogueira by TKO (strikes) R1 4:06

Middleweight Fight- Fabio Negao (8-3) vs. Matt Lindland (20-5)

R1- Linland pops him about 10 seconds in and Negao folds and then Lindland grabs a guillotine and Negao looks like he is going to tap. Negao finally gets out of the move after about a minute and a half. Lindland hit a double fist shot and then a head butt (which he got a warning for). With one minute left Negao finally gets back to his feet. Both guys looking tired at the end of the round. Lindland is throwing some weak shots at this point. Lindland dominated this round but then really gassed at the end of the round. Lindland 10-9 (almost a 10-8 but Negao actually got in a couple of shots in the last minute after Lindland ran out of breath). Negao didn't show much offense but he survived and Lindland seems to be running out of gas.

R2- Negao gets in some shots here in Round 2. Lindland manages to get a take down about 2 minutes into the round. Lindland controls the rest of the round on the ground but never looked like he was going to finish Negao. Right now i've got Lindland 20-18.

R3- Both guys look really tired in this round. If either guy was in there with a younger in shape fighter that they would probably get finished here pretty quickly. Really sloppy looking fighting in this round as both guys are just dead tired. It's like they are fighting in slow motion. Lindland gets a take down that take Negao out of the ring (they need to do a better job of making sure that the ring is set up to ensure that this doesn't happen).

Lindland looked like a world better in the first 2 minutes and after that this was a very hard fight to watch with two fighters that didn't seem to have the proper conditioning needed. Lindland is going to take this 30-27. Really hard fight to watch. Not really looking forward to seeing these two guys fight anytime soon.

Winner: Matt Lindland by Decision (Unanimous)

"Still one of the top middleweights in the world, your winner Matt Lindland"- Big John McCarthy

Nice job toeing the company line but that fight probably doesn't even get Lindland in the Top 50 Middleweights in the world right now. Maybe once he gets back in ring shape but if he was in there against anyone in the Top 20 he would have been defeated easily at the end of the first round when he started to gas or in the second round.

Light Heavyweight Fight- Renato "Babalu" Sobral (29-7) vs. Mike Whitehead (21-5)

Whitehead is fighting out of Extreme Couture. It seems like at least one fighter from each fight has trained at Extreme Couture so far.

R1- They stand up for the first 4 and a half minutes and it's pretty even but doesn't really hold my attention. Babalu gets a quick take down but Whitehead pops back up.

R2- Whitehead gets a take down with 2 minutes gone in the round but Babalu looked like he wanted to be in the guard. Another decent round that just really didn't catch my attention. Babalu grabs an arm submission but Whitehead again gets out of it.

R3- They have another take down in this round that goes outside of the ring. Affliction really needs to fix this issue as it could end in somebody getting hurt. A minute or so later this happens again and the fight is stopped for a minute. Babalu grabs a guillotine with 2 and a half minutes left but Whitehead escapes and is in Babalu's guard.

Undertaker is shown at ringside.Overall this just wasn't a very exciting fight. Babalu started to get the crowd into it late but overall it fell flat. I've got nothing against a fight being inside a ring instead of a cage but the ring ropes need to be fixed and be sturdier as they really halted a lot of momentum in this fight.

Judges score cards are: 30-27 on all score cards.

Winner: Renato "Babalu" Sobral by Decision (Unanimous)

Donald Trump is shown at ringside sitting next to Tito Ortiz and Jenna Jameson and in front of Steve Austin.

Four fights left. So far this has been a very lackluster PPV. The remaining four fights all have promise though so hopefully they will finish up strong.

Featherweight Fight- Mark Hominick (15-8) vs. Savant Young (9-7)

Homnick is working with Extreme Couture, shocking isn't it?

R1- I think the fact that they are using an over sized ring is actually discouraging action as it gives guys more room to move around and stay away from their opponent. Decent first round but still felt kind of flat to me.

R2- Young gets a take down with two minutes left in the round. Hominick tries to get a triangle but Young slams him. Hominick tries an arm bar and then switches back to try a triangle but can't seem to lock in anything like he wants to. Hominick finally gets his submission as Young taps to the arm bar.

This was a decent fight and probably the best on the show so far, which isn't saying much so far.

Winner: Mark Homnick by Submission (Arm Bar) 4:25

Megadeth plays another song. Fast Forward...

Heavyweight Fight- Josh Barnett (22-5) vs. Pedro Rizzo (16-7)

R1- Decent first round but kind of pedestrian. Seemed like more of a boxing match than a MMA fight.

R2- Out of nowhere Barnett just nails Rizzo and Rizzo falls back on his face knocked out. Nice finish by Barnett.

Winner: Josh Barnett by KO R2 1:44

Heavyweight Fight- Andrei Arlovski (12-5) vs. Ben Rothwell (29-5)

Arlovski gets a good reaction.

R1- Arlovski gets a take down with about 2 and a half minutes left and then attempts a heel hook but Rothwell gets out. Arlovski got some good shots in with about a minute left in the round. Arlvoski takes Round 1 10-9. Best round of the night so far one could argue.

R2- They mix it up pretty good at the beginning of the round and Arlovski goes to town on him but Rothwell hands on and then Arlovski takes him down. Arlovski went for the heel hook again and missed and Rothwell took Arlovski's guard. Rothwell's nose is busted open and he's bleeding all over Arlovski's chest. They stand the fight back up and Arlovski is all over Rothwell and Arlovski nails him with a knee. Great finish in this round by Arlovski to win the round. Arlovski is up 20-18

R3- They start off the round with clinching. Arlovski nails Rothwell with a big right hand and then a short combo and takes out Rothwell.

This was a good fight. Really the first fight on this show that I would classify as more than mediocre. Good showing by Arlovski as he sets himself up for a possible meeting with the winner of Fedor/Sylvia and/or Barnett.

Winner:Andrei Arlovski R3 1:13

Michael Buffer takes time to announce celebrities at ringside such as Michael Strahan, James Toney, Korn, Don Johnson, Bill Goldberg, Rob Schneider, Manny Ramirez (gets boos). While they introduce Donald Trump, Michael Madsen is standing right behind him but gets no love (I guess Buffer feels that Don Johnson is greater than Reservoir Dogs).

Megadeth plays again. Fast Forward...

Wamma Heavyweight Title Fight- Fedor Emelianenko (27-1) vs. Tim Sylvia (24-4)

Sylvia gets a round of boos when he is introduced. Fedor gets a decent round of applause.

R1- Fedor immediately hits Sylvia with about 8 quick punches and Sylvia goes down and then Fedor jumps on him and lands several shots and then Rear Naked Chokes him for the tap out victory. Just total decimation by Fedor. Great showing by Fedor as he definitely cemented his status as the top Heavyweight in the world and arguably the best fighter in the world.

Winner: Fedor Emelianenko by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1

Overall, a very lukewarm start for Affliction. They finished good with the Arlovski fight and the Fedor fight and Barnett put on a good showing but overall it was a very pedestrian night of fighting. It's tough to be too harsh on Affliction since this is their first PPV but I just didn't think this was a PPV quality event. The good news is that they have a lot of talent on the roster that they used like Fedor, Arlovski, Barnett, Babalu and Lil Nog. They definitely need to fix the ring so that fighters don't fall out of it. They also need to get a Play-By-Play Announcer because Jay Glazer just didn't do it for me. He would be decent as a third guy in the booth but he can't anchor the PPV. Trigg was decent enough and would probably be a lot better with someone better to play off of. It was kind of surreal the way they played the entire night around Randy Couture in that he was one of the first guys on the broadcast, his fighters fought all night long and then Fedor said that he would like to fight him during his post-match interview. They even bring Randy Couture to the middle of the ring and ask him he he wants to fight Fedor- to which he says he does.