Vitor Belfort Phenomenal Over Rich Franklin, dos Santos Convinces Cro Cop to Quit at UFC 103

Xtreme Couture’s “Phenom” Vitor Belfort (18-8) scored his bulliest victory in four-plus years TKOing Fighters.com’s ninth-ranked middleweight “Ace” Rich Franklin (26-5) at 3:02 of round one in a 195-pound catch weight main event at UFC 103 in Dallas Saturday night.

“Jesus, I love you,” shouted Belfort in the Octagon after the fight, and in his dressing room he added,  “God gave me a gift and I’m using it.  And, I’m ready.  A lot of people thought I was done, you know, and that’s what I’m bringing to this game – hope, faith, and hard work.

In Dallas, Franklin’s disastrous strategy most evidently handed Belfort his fifth straight victory since losing a UD to “Hollywood” Dan Henderson (25-7) at PRIDE 32 in Las Vegas in 2006.  The usually cool as a cucumber Franklin pawed impatiently at Belfort with his right jab, leaving himself exposed to Belfort’s quick hands.

“First round, you have to feel your opponent, see where he are,” explained Belfort post-fight.  “I saw he was kind of rushed trying to pace the fight.  And then, I was just taking my time.”

One lunging Franklin jab too many and the quick-handed former UFC champion dropped Franklin with a grazing counter left hook and pushing right hook.

“I just listen to all my coaches,” said Belfort.  “They were saying, ‘Find your distance and throw.’”

Franklin fell to his knees, face down; and, Belfort crammed another left hook into Franklin’s jaw.  Franklin’s body limped up; and, referee Yves Lavigne pushed Belfort off Franklin.

Though Belfort and Franklin fought at 195 pounds, Belfort’s last several wins were earned in the middleweight division.  He now finds himself contending with Henderson and “Great” Nate Marquardt (29-8-2) for a title shot against Fighters.com Middleweight Champion “Spider” Anderson Silva (25-4).

Franklin falls to 1-2 in his last three and remains without a clear future at either middleweight or light heavyweight.  “Losing wasn’t part of my plan,” Franklin admitted after the loss.  “So I’m just going to have to let the dust settle and figure out what’s going on.”

In the co-main event, heavyweight prospect “Cigano” Junior dos Santos (9-1) forced once-feared “Cro Cop” Mirko Filipovic (25-8-2) to quit at 2:00 of round three after a dos Santos straight right blinded Filipovic.

Though Filipovic overpowered the larger “Cigano” in the clinch in the first two rounds and connected a smattering of straights that left a healthy mouse beneath dos Santos’s left eye, “Cro Cop” phoned in another jittery performance in the Octagon. 

“My game is to move forward and be attacking at all times,” “Cigano” described after the fight.

When dos Santos advanced whipping combos at “Cro Cop”, “Cro Cop” backpedaled and threw his hands out to halt dos Santos’s advance.  Though Filipovic’s defensive strategy had the sophistication of a playground brawl, it actually kept the fight within reach for two rounds.

In round three though, dos Santos connected an uppercut beneath Filipovic’s defensive tactic and unloaded an assault of knee strikes to Filipovic’s body and head, until a knee to Filipovic’s body in the clinch against the fence opened “Cro Cop” up for the punch that left him blinded and waving off the fight.

“I’m here to finish fights,” proclaimed dos Santos after the third win during his 11-month UFC career.
 
Welterweight “Semtex” Paul Daley (19-9-2) TKO’d Xtreme Couture’s “Hitman” Martin Kampmann (15-3) at 2:31 of round one in Daley’s UFC debut.  Daley staggered Kampmann with a left hook, sending Kampmann reeling to the cage.  Another left hook clammed Kampmann up as Daley teed off in the barrage of punches that ended Kampmann’s night.  Referee Yves Lavigne stepped in to stop the fight while Kampmann was still on his feet.

“I was saying to myself at the beginning of the fight, standing across the cage from him, ‘I’m going to knock you out.  I’m going to knock you out,’” Daley said after the fight.  “I just kept repeating it in my head.  ‘I’m going to knock you out.  I’m going to knock you out.’  I stood there looking at him thinking, ‘I’m going to knock you out.’  And, there you go.”

American Kickboxing Academy welterweight Josh Koscheck (13-4) TKO’d “Twinkle Toes” Frank Trigg (19-7) with a straight right at 1:25 of round one as Trigg clutched the cage.  Trigg dropped to the mat and Koscheck followed-up with two right hands before the referee stepped in.

After the victory, Koscheck announced, “I know there’s a guy who just signed a new contract.  His name is Matt Hughes. I’ve been asking for that for a long time.”

Xtreme Couture lightweight Tyson Griffin (14-2) TKO’d Hermes Franca (19-8) at 3:26 of round two.  Griffin crumpled Franca with a straight right, then pounced in a flurry while dodging Franca’s submission attempts until Griffin landed flush to end the fight on the mat.

Lightweight Efrain Escudero (8-0) TKO’d American Top Team’s “Magrinho” Cole Miller (15-3) at 3:36 of round one.

Middleweight “Gorilla” Tomas Drwal (17-2) tapped out Miletich Fighting Systems’ “Massacre” Drew McFedries (8-6) in a guillotine choke at 1:03 of round two.

Lightweight “Mongoose” Jim Miller (15-2) won a TKO 45-seconds into round two when Steve Lopez (2-2) injured his shoulder in his Octagon debut.

Lightweight “Carny” Nik Lentz (14-3-1) won a three-round unanimous decision over “Tractor” Rafaello Oliveira (8-2).

Welterweight Rick Story (6-2) tapped out Brian Foster (12-4) in an arm triangle at 1:09 of the second round.

Light heavyweight Eliot Marshall (7-1) won a three-round split decision over “Hitman” Jason Brilz (17-2-1).

Light heavyweight “Janitor” Vladimir Matyushenko (23-4) won a three-round unanimous decision over Igor Pokrajac (14-6).

Lightweight Rafael Dos Anjos (13-3) won a three-round unanimous decision over “Saint” Rob Emerson (9-8).