According to UFC President Dana White, longtime UFC fighter Chuck Liddell, who suffered a first-round TKO loss to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in the co-main event of Saturday's UFC 97 event, is retired from fighting.
"He's a huge superstar, and we could still sell lots of tickets (with Liddell)," White said. "But I don't care about that. I care about him. I care about his health, and it's over, man. It's over."
The loss to Rua was Liddell's fourth in his past five fights and the third to come via knockout in that span. Although Liddell said he retooled his training camp, and though some of those new skills were on display on Saturday at Montreal's Bell Centre, Liddell still suffered the career-ending loss.
Much of the buildup for UFC 97 focused on Liddell's potential retirement.
eported last week, White had been adamant that a loss for 39-year-old Liddell would mean retirement. "And he did. He kept his word. He was in great shape. He came out guns slinging like he does, but that was it. If that (fight) was a toe-to-toe war and he got flashed (knocked down) a couple times and it went to decision, he'd still be retiring too. He'd still be retiring."
White said the decision is all the easier when considering all that the former UFC light-heavyweight champion has accomplished. White continually states that Liddell is the highest earner in MMA history and the biggest star the sport has ever seen.
"I don't want him to fight anymore," White said. "He [expletive] doesn't have anything to prove. Nothing to prove. He doesn't have to prove anything to me or the rest of world. He has [expletive] loads of money. There's no reason for it. ... I don't care how much he draws. I don't want to see him get hurt."
Liddell attended the post-UFC 97 press conference, a rarity for high-profile stars who suffer losses in their fights. White said it's just the type of person Liddell is. But maybe Liddell just wanted to say goodbye – without officially saying goodbye.
When asked if he had entered the cage for the final time, Liddell was at first noncommittal but later admitted it was probably true.
"Yeah, that's probably the case," Liddell said. "I'm not going to make any decisions until I go home to talk to everybody, talk to my people and my friends. ... But it's probably safe to say (I'm retired)."
The news will likely hit the MMA world hard. Despite his 1-4 record since his final title defense over Tito Ortiz at UFC 66, Liddell remains a fan favorite, a proven par-per-view draw, and an international icon for the sport.
"Fight fans love guys who are real fighters, and you will never in your [expletive] life meet a more real fighter than this guy," White said. "He didn't want to stop. He didn't want to quit. He wanted to take another run at the title. He loves to fight."
Liddell retires with a 21-7 record, including a 16-6 mark in the UFC. His 16 wins in the organizations remain a UFC record.
Liddell, who turned pro in 1998, made his MMA and UFC debut at UFC 17. He won the UFC's light-heavyweight title in 2005 and made four consecutive title defenses before losing the belt to Quinton Jackson in 2007.
According to White, Liddell will remain with the organization, though an exact role has not been determined. However, White said Liddell will likely be involved in the organization's public relations, including the push for MMA legislation in the few remaining U.S. states where the sport is not currently regulated.
"He'll always have a home here," White said. ESPNMMA.com
But Liddell, who went from fighting for purses of less than $1,000 to earning paydays in excess of $1 million, couldn’t bring himself to retire so easily.
“I just love to fight,” Liddell said, repeatedly, before the bout.
So, he struck a deal with White: He’d clean up the lifestyle issues that concerned his friend and one-time manager and get himself into the kind of shape he’d been in when he was in his heyday. In return, White agreed to give him another chance.
And, indeed, Liddell’s body looked fit and trim, much more like that of a 25-year-old than a 40-year-old.
He also went out with his style of fight, stalking Franklin and gunning for the knockout with every shot he threw.
“He follows big when he thinks he has you hurt,” Franklin said. “But I was never as badly hurt as he thought I was.”
Liddell was doing well in the bout and likely would have won the first round on the scorecards if it was completed. Not only did he land several good punches, but he was throwing high kicks, which he hadn’t in years, and he mixed in some wrestling.
But his lust for the knockout, in a way, cost him the fight on Saturday.
He missed a big right hand and he swung so hard that his momentum carried him forward into Franklin. Franklin fired a right hook that had everything he could muster on it. The blow landed on Liddell’s mouth and badly split his lip, almost down to the chin.
Liddell was out instantly, but Franklin landed a shot before referee Herb Dean could get in to stop it.
“Chuck Liddell came in fantastic shape; he worked hard for this thing and I think him and Rich Franklin tonight fought the type of fights that made them both famous and made them both world champions,” White said in tribute to his friend, who was taken to a local hospital to be examined. “Those two went at it, nonstop, toe-to-toe. It was a fun fight.”
The fight had major stakes for both men. Franklin was coming off a knockout loss to Vitor Belfort at UFC 103 in September and was a loser in two of his last three.
While most of the pre-fight attention was focused on Liddell and whether he could get it back together to, as he said, make a final run at the UFC light heavyweight title, the bout had significant implications for Franklin as well.
The light heavyweight division is one of the UFC’s deepest. If Franklin had lost to Liddell, it would have been his third defeat in four outings and retirement might have been in the offing.
Franklin didn’t want to acknowledge it, but he conceded after the bout that he understood he was walking a high-wire as well.
“It maybe was somewhere in the back of my mind, but I really try to push that stuff out,” Franklin said. “What happened to me in my last fight will not predict what will happen to me in my next fight. I really believe that. On any given night, Chuck and I could do this 100 times and there would be several different outcomes.
“This happened to be my night, and last fight it wasn’t. But you can’t help but think that, ‘Well, if I drop three of four, where would that leave me?’ Any time you put your back against the wall in a no-win situation, where ‘if I don’t win this, it’s over,’ you take your mind off the important thing and that’s focusing on my performance.”
Franklin fought more than half of the fight with a broken left arm, suffered when he successfully blocked a high kick from Liddell about two minutes into the match.
He wasn’t planning to quit, he said, but he knew it would help his cause if he could do something to end the fight quickly. When the bout ended, he beamed devilishly, because he knew he didn’t have to figure a way to win the bout without his left arm.
“I was just happy the fight was over because I knew my arm was broken,” Franklin said, explaining his grin. “I definitely wasn’t going to quit. I’ve broken bones before and continued fighting, but there was part of me that was trying to figure what kind of strategy I was going to use to win a fight with a broken left arm.”
Franklin pulled it out and so his career will continue forward, but Liddell will be left to move on to other things. White, who said, “I love Chuck Liddell,” said his friend would have a job for life with the UFC.
But the man who was one of the most significant fighters in UFC history and who helped the company achieve the soaring popularity it now enjoys wanted that job to be swapping punches, at least a bit longer.
He goes out, though, on his own terms, having fought the best of his era and beaten nearly all of them. He finishes with a 21-8 record and a spot in the UFC Hall of Fame.
Six of Liddell’s eight losses came against men who held a UFC title at one point in their careers (Jackson, twice; Couture, Evans, Rua and Franklin) and who themselves are among the best fighters in the sport’s brief history.
Franklin called the victory “bittersweet” because he didn’t want to become known as the man who retired Liddell.
The former middleweight champion scored the knockout, but it wasn’t really Franklin who retired Chuck Liddell.
It was the calendar. Liddell got old and his chin betrayed him.
He went down, though, the way he fought his entire career, firing big punches and bringing the fans from their seats.
Few have ever done it better.
Franklin’s left arm was grotesquely swollen and appeared it may be broken after he blocked a kick from Liddell.
But Franklin, the former middleweight champ, didn’t seem to mind, beaming after knocking out one of the UFC’s legendary stars.
Liddell hadn’t fought since being knocked out by Mauricio “Shogun” Rua 14 months ago in Montreal at UFC 97. It was the third time he had been knocked out, and Liddell took the time off to allow himself to recuperate.
He was scoring well on Saturday and dictating the pace of the fight. He likely would have won the first round on the judges’ cards if the round finished, and he looked to apply some late damage when he was caught.
On the undercard, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic won his heavyweight battle with Pat Barry, who made no secret of his admiration for the PRIDE veteran. Filipovic forced a submission with a rear naked choke with 30 seconds left in the fight.
Barry made many fans before the fight by admitting his admiration for Filipovic, but in the first round he went after his idol and knocked him down twice and was in control of the fight.
But Barry’s conditioning seemed to fail him and Filipovic picked up the pace in the second, stopping Barry’s onslaught and forcing him into a defensive mode.
In the third, Filipovic took over and was catching Barry with fast combinations, forcing Barry to retreat. With about a minute left, a combination from Filipovic knocked Barry down. Filipovic landed a series of hard punches on the ground and referee Yves Lavigne seemed on the verge of stopping it.
But Barry turned away from Filipovic, who took advantage and slapped the fight-ending choke on Barry.
Canadian Rory MacDonald, at 20 years old the UFC’s youngest fighter, got a hero’s welcome from the raucous GM Place crowd and then performed brilliantly through the first two rounds against former World Extreme Cagefighting welterweight champion Carlos Condit.
But Condit took over in the third round and began to rock MacDonald with hard punches. In the final seconds of the fight, MacDonald was on his back and Condit was pounding him with blows. With just 10 seconds left in the fight, referee Kevin Dornan jumped in to stop it.
Two of the judges had MacDonald up 20-18 at the time of the stop. The third had it a draw, 19-19. If the judges would have scored the fight 10-8 for Condit, as it appeared they might, the fight would have wound up a majority draw.
MacDonald didn’t complain about the stoppage.
“I was confused,” he said. “I was taking some good shots. I was lost. I just couldn’t find my rhythm.”
Ben Rothwell managed to control Gilbert Yvel in most of all three rounds and won a unanimous decision over the Dutchman in an entertaining heavyweight bout.
Martin Kampmann moved closer to a bout for the No. 1 contender position in the UFC’s welterweight division with a solid victory over Paulo Thiago. Kampmann was brilliant in neutralizing Thiago’s punching power and controlling him on the ground.
Mirko "Cro Cop" Filopovic took an early beating to come back and choke out Pat Barry in the third round at UFC 115.
Pat Barry came out against his hero, the legendary Mirko "Cro Cop" Filopovic looking to land hard shots. He did about 30 seconds in, dropped Cro Cop with a right hand. Barry then went to the leg kick. And back for more. Cro Cop came in swinging and missing and Barry landed to the inside of the same leg. Cro Cop attempted a hook kick. Barry landed another hard right and again dropped Mirko.
Cro Cop's face began to swell horribly. The announcers speculated that his jaw was broken. Cro Cop threw Pat Barry and got a take down. Then he landed a combination of punches that set the crowd on fire. Then they traded hugs! Then back to exchanging blows. Barry ended with a high kick that just missed.
Mirko looked really bad going into round two. He threw two big left high kicks to open. Then he landed with a kick to the body. And he surged forward behind a punching combination. This is a proud man! Barry with more leg kicks. They tied up and Mirko attacked Barry's thighs with hammer fists then threw Barry down briefly. More knees to the bodies preceded a ref restart. Cro Cop advanced behind double jabs. Then a side kick landed for the Croation. Barry slipped on a high kick and Mirko locked on a front choke. Then he put Barry down on his back. Barry managed to hold Mirko close, but Filopovic worked for better position and attained mount. Then he got Barry's back and worked for a rear naked choke! Barry flipped over but Cro Cop held dominant position to the end of the round. Great come back for Filopovic.
A bruised Pat Barry looked at a shattered Mirko Filopovic across the cage to start round three. They hugged a gain then got to business. Cro Cop fired combinations. Then he landed an axe kick! Cro Cop ducked a right hand and got body hooks. Barry timed a high kick and kicked his leg out from under him, dropping Cro Cop on his ass. Barry pinged with leg kicks. Barry tagged him with a left. Cro Cop answered with an uppercut. And another followed by a combination of hooks. Then they clinched near the cage where they traded standing elbows. Cro Cop landed more. The ref restarted them again . Cro Cop landed hard and poured it on. Then he dropped Barry and pounded away. Cro Cop whaled away and looked at the ref asking for a stoppage. Not getting it, he went for the rear naked choke and got the finish.
Today's proceedings begin at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT).
Weighing in today are UFC 115 headliners and "The Ultimate Fighter 11" coaches Rich Franklin and Chuck Liddell, co-main-event fighters Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic and Pat Barry, and the rest of the card's fighters. They'll return to GM Place on Saturday for the Spike TV (two preliminary-card fights) and pay-per-view (main card) fights.
Be sure to check out MMAjunkie.com later today for a complete weigh-in photo gallery and images of all 22 competitors.
There have been rumors Rich Franklin replaces Tito Ortiz on The Ultimate Fighter Season 11...this pic from the TUF 11 set seems to confirm this rumor with Franklin's picture up on the wall alongside Chuck Liddell.has learned from sources close to the promotion that the two have verbally agreed to face each other in June at UFC 115, though contracts have yet to be finalized.
The new matchup replaces a planned third meeting between Liddell and Tito Ortiz that had been expected for the promotion's first trip to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and may have been arranged as a result of Franklin's unexpected involvement in "TUF 11."
The Franklin vs. Liddell matchup was first reported by Fighters Only magazine, though the U.K.-based publication pinned the fight to a rumored April 17 UFC Fight Night card that now seems increasingly unlikely to occur.
Liddell and Ortiz were announced this past December as opposing coaches on the soon-to-debut "The Ultimate Fighter 11" series. At that time, the UFC also announced plans for the legendary figures to meet for a third time at the conclusion of the series.
It was later learned that the matchup was intended to headline the as-yet-unannounced UFC 115 card in June.
With Ortiz no longer in the plans, the former champion's next move is currently unknown.
In February, with "The Ultimate Fighter 11" still filming in Las Vegas, the "Hunting Beach Bad Boy" posted a series of cryptic messages on his Twitter account the led to many to speculate something had run afoul with his role as a coach on the Spike TV series.
"If things couldn't get worse, they just did!" Ortiz stated on Feb. 24. "[Expletive]! "I want to thank all my fans for your support!
"I guess business is business."
Three days later, additional Ortiz comments led to further speculation.
"Thanks for all the support," Ortiz stated. "Thinking that life couldn't get any harder? It just did! Another challenge that god has given me! Wow.
"Many things that challenge us in lives will make us stronger. One thing I can say is don't ever quit. I'm strong because of my family and fans!"
MMAjunkie.com has been told from additional sources that Ortiz was not able to complete the filming of "The Ultimate Fighter 11," though the reasoning behind his absence wasn't immediately known.
Those same sources suggested that Franklin was possibly brought in as a replacement coach to finish out the season's filming, and "Ace" now meets Liddell as an opposing "TUF" coach.
The original announcement of a third matchup between Liddell and Ortiz was met with little fanfare. Many MMA fans felt the matchup was unnecessary with the "Iceman" already owning a pair of wins over Ortiz – a 2004 second-round knockout and a 2006 third-round TKO.
UFC president Dana White has publicly denied that any changes are taking place through multiple posts on his Twitter account.
"Not true!" White stated. "We are doing (Randy) Couture vs. (Rich) Franklin, not Chuck.
"Nothing happened to Tito. Tito and I are cool."
MMAjunkie.com has been informed by additional sources close to the promotion that while a Couture vs. Franklin fight has been discussed, there are numerous obstacles that could potentially prevent the matchup from taking place, and bout agreements have not been distributed.
For more on "The Ultimate Fighter 11," which debuts March 31 following Spike TV's broadcast of UFC Fight Night 21,
The November 2009 Independent World MMA Rankings have been released. These rankings are independent of any single MMA media outlet or sanctioning body, and are published on multiple web sites. In addition to the numerous MMA web sites that publish the Independent World MMA Rankings, you can also access the rankings at any time by going to http://www.independentworldmmarankings.com/. Some of the best and most knowledgeable MMA writers from across the MMA media landscape have come together to form one independent voting panel. These voting panel members are, in alphabetical order: Zach Arnold (Fight Opinion); Nicholas Bailey (MMA Ratings); Jared Barnes (Freelance); Jordan Breen (Sherdog); Jim Genia (Full Contact Fighter, MMA Memories, and MMA Journalist Blog); Jesse Holland (MMA Mania); Robert Joyner (Freelance); Todd Martin (CBS Sportsline); Jim Murphy (The Savage Science); Zac Robinson (Sports by the Numbers MMA); Leland Roling (Bloody Elbow); Michael David Smith (AOL Fanhouse); Jonathan Snowden (Heavy.com); Joshua Stein (MMA Opinion); Ivan Trembow (Freelance); and Dave Walsh (Total MMA and Head Kick Legend). Note: Due to the fact that he has not competed in the welterweight division for over one year and has no plans to do so in the foreseeable future, Jake Shields is no longer eligible to be ranked in the welterweight division. He is, however, eligible to be ranked in the middleweight division. Note: Due to the fact that he has not competed in the heavyweight division for over one year and has no plans to do so in the foreseeable future, Randy Couture is no longer eligible to be ranked in the heavyweight division. He is, however, eligible to be ranked in the light heavyweight division. November 2009 Independent World MMA RankingsBallots collected on November 24, 2009 Heavyweight Rankings (206 to 265 lbs.) 1. Fedor Emelianenko (31-1, 1 No Contest)2. Brock Lesnar (4-1)3. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-5-1, 1 No Contest)4. Frank Mir (12-4)5. Shane Carwin (11-0)6. Brett Rogers (10-1)7. Alistair Overeem (31-11, 1 No Contest)8. Junior dos Santos (9-1)9. Cain Velasquez (7-0)10. Fabricio Werdum (13-4-1) Light Heavyweight Rankings (186 to 205 lbs.) 1. Lyoto Machida (16-0)2. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (18-4)3. Rashad Evans (13-1-1)4. Quinton Jackson (30-7)5. Anderson Silva (25-4)6. Gegard Mousasi (27-2-1)7. Forrest Griffin (17-6)8. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (18-3)9. Dan Henderson (25-7)10. Thiago Silva (14-1) Middleweight Rankings (171 to 185 lbs.) 1. Anderson Silva (25-4)2. Nathan Marquardt (29-8-2)3. Dan Henderson (25-7)4. Vitor Belfort (19-8)5. Demian Maia (11-1)6. Jake Shields (24-4-1)7. Chael Sonnen (24-10-1)8. Yushin Okami (23-5)9. Robbie Lawler (16-5, 1 No Contest)10. Jorge Santiago (21-8) Welterweight Rankings (156 to 170 lbs.) 1. Georges St. Pierre (19-2)2. Jon Fitch (19-3, 1 No Contest)3. Thiago Alves (16-6)4. Josh Koscheck (14-4)5. Matt Hughes (43-7)6. Dan Hardy (23-6)7. Paulo Thiago (12-1)8. Mike Swick (14-3)9. Carlos Condit (24-5)10. Marius Zaromskis (13-3) Lightweight Rankings (146 to 155 lbs.) 1. B.J. Penn (14-5-1)2. Shinya Aoki (22-4, 1 No Contest)3. Eddie Alvarez (19-2)4. Kenny Florian (11-4)5. Tatsuya Kawajiri (25-5-2)6. Diego Sanchez (21-2)7. Gray Maynard (8-0, 1 No Contest)8. Frankie Edgar (10-1)9. Joachim Hansen (19-8-1)10. Mizuto Hirota (12-3-1) Featherweight Rankings (136 to 145 lbs.) 1. Jose Aldo (16-1)2. Mike Brown (22-5)3. Urijah Faber (22-3)4. Hatsu Hioki (20-4-2)5. Bibiano Fernandes (7-2)6. Raphael Assuncao (14-1)7. “Lion” Takeshi Inoue (17-3)8. Wagnney Fabiano (12-2)9. Manny Gamburyan (10-4)10. Michihiro Omigawa (8-8-1) Bantamweight Rankings (126 to 135 lbs.) 1. Brian Bowles (8-0)2. Miguel Torres (37-2)3. Takeya Mizugaki (12-3-2)4. Masakatsu Ueda (10-0-2)5. Dominick Cruz (14-1)6. Akitoshi Tamura (14-7-2)7. Joseph Benavidez (10-1)8. Damacio Page (12-4)9. Rani Yahya (15-4)10. Will Ribeiro (10-2) The Independent World MMA Rankings are tabulated on a monthly basis in each of the top seven weight classes of MMA, from heavyweight to bantamweight, with fighters receiving ten points for a first-place vote, nine points for a second-place vote, and so on. The rankings are based purely on the votes of the members of the voting panel, with nobody’s vote counting more than anybody else’s vote, and no computerized voting. The voters are instructed to vote primarily based on fighters’ actual accomplishments in the cage/ring (the quality of opposition that they’ve actually beaten), not based on a broad, subjective perception of which fighters would theoretically win fantasy match-ups. Inactivity: Fighters who have not fought in the past 12 months are not eligible to be ranked, and will regain their eligibility the next time they fight. Disciplinary Suspensions: Fighters who are currently serving disciplinary suspensions, or who have been denied a license for drug test or disciplinary reasons, are not eligible to be ranked. Changing Weight Classes: When a fighter announces that he is leaving one weight class in order to fight in another weight class, the fighter is not eligible to be ranked in the new weight class until he has his first fight in the new weight class. Catch Weight Fights: When fights are contested at weights that are in between the limits of the various weight classes, they are considered to be in the higher weight class. The weight limits for each weight class are listed at the top of the rankings for each weight class.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship presents UFC 103. Featuring former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort versus UFC superstar Rich "Ace" Franklin in the main event.
It wasn’t a surprise when Vitor Belfort made a religious analogy to describe his return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday night. Belfort (19-8), in his first match with the organization in four-and-a-half years, stopped Rich Franklin (27-5, 1 no contest), finishing the former middleweight champion in the first real flurry of the fight. “The Bible tells the story that the story of the second house is greater than the first,” said the former UFC light heavyweight champion. Belfort is a devout Christian, but it is his career that might more aptly be described as born again. He stormed onto the scene and earned the nickname “The Phenom” in 1997 when he was a 19-year-old heavyweight, scoring flash knockouts against men much larger than himself, such as 300-plus pound Scott Ferrozzo and nearly 300-pound Tank Abbott, with the fastest hands ever seen up to that point in UFC competition. Related Video
But he never reached the level of domination expected. While he had flashed of brilliance, he also had nights when he didn’t seem to come to fight, most notably a loss to Alistair Overeem in a Strikeforce main event three years ago. But Saturday’s win was Belfort’s fifth straight, and fourth by stoppage from punches. It may signal the return of the “Old Vitor” fans have wanted for more than a decade, or it may simply be that the “New Vitor” is a fully matured fighter. Little happened in the first 2:30 of the main event of UFC 103, with the packed house of 17,428 fans at the American Airlines Center starting to boo. Franklin reacted, wanting to pick up the pace to entertain the crowd, and Belfort responded by catching Franklin with a grazing punch. Franklin was a little stunned and Belfort then delivered a looping left hand that was the key blow, and after a few hard lefts on the ground, referee Yves Lavigne stopped the fight at 3:02. The show, the UFC’s first in the market, drew a $2.4 million gate, the largest for any sporting event ever in the building. The win impressed UFC president Dana White enough that he was already talking of Belfort as being in the mix for the next shot at middleweight champion (185 pounds) Anderson Silva, even though this fight was at a catch weight of 195 pounds and Belfort needed several attempts to make weight. White, though, will have to sort out issues involving Silva and potential challengers Dan Henderson and Nate Marquardt before deciding whom Belfort will next fight. “Dan Henderson fought Anderson Silva and took him down in the first round and put his hand over Silva’s mouth, and then in the second round, Anderson finished him,” said White about their fight in March, 2008. “Silva finished Nate Marquardt in the first round (in a July 2007 title match). I want to put Dan Henderson against Nate Marquardt with the winner getting the shot at Silva.” White said he would be meeting with Henderson in the next week, whose contract has expired and is currently a free agent. Henderson has said that he was promised the shot at Silva, which Silva doesn’t want, noting he had beaten Henderson last year. Henderson had agreed to a rematch with Franklin which was the original main event on this show, but that fell apart when initial fan response was negative and White acquired Belfort’s contract after Affliction folded in July. Henderson has declined requests to face Marquardt, feeling he’d be risking a title shot he had already earned. But White said in the interim, he may put Silva against Belfort, a match he had talked about back in June on Spike TV before Belfort was even in the organization, with the winner then facing the winner of Henderson vs. Marquardt. Or he may wait and put Belfort against the winner of Silva against the Henderson-Marquardt winner, depending on how things work out. White said earlier in the week that Silva would be undergoing minor elbow surgery and be out of action for a few months. Silva himself had claimed this past week he was completely healthy, he had no injury and that nobody had hurt him. Another UFC official said that Silva’s camp had wanted to keep the surgery quiet and not let people know there was an injury. However, since the word got out, and since Silva wasn’t going to fight in the next few months, they weren’t going to deny the story. Belfort, known from the start for his quick, accurate hands and good grappling skills, credited something new in his training, even though it wasn’t obvious to the fans watching. “My new weapon is karate,” said Belfort, noting it is teaching him to not waste energy and make every blow count. “I want to use it. As soon as I saw something and attacked, I wanted to take his zip code, area code and social security number.” As for Franklin, the loss seems to put his career as a pay-per-view headliner in limbo. It’s his second loss in three fights, having lost to Henderson in January, and followed with a win over Wanderlei Silva in June. He’s been used this year largely as utility main event material, a name fighter who headlines shows when no champions are available. White noted that Franklin was one of the fighters who helped build the company, being middleweight champion and the second season Ultimate Fighter coach when the sport hit television. “He’ll always have a place with us,” he said. Franklin said he wasn’t exactly sure what happened in the fight because he didn’t remember a lot. “I just remember the kick I threw and he caught my leg,” he said. “I remembered the fans booing and thinking I needed to push the pace of the fight. I assume I got caught.” Dave Meltzer covers mixed martial arts for Yahoo! Sports. Send Dave a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.
UFC 103 Fight Card
Rich Franklin Vs. Vitor Belfort Vitor Belfort Wins by Knock Out at 3:02 of round one
Mirko Cro Cop Vs. Junior Dos Santos Junior Dos Santos Wins by Technical Knock Out at 2:00 in the 3rd round
Martin Kampmann Vs. Paul Daley Paul Daley Wins by Technical Knock Out at 2:31 in the 1st round
Josh Koscheck Vs. Frank Trigg Josh Koscheck Wins by Technical Knock Out at 1:25 in the 1st round
Tyson Griffin Vs. Hermes Franca Tyson Griffin Wins by Knock Out at 3:26 in the 2nd round
Efrain Escudero Vs. Cole Miller Efrain Escudero Wins by Technical Knock Out at 3:36 in the 1st round
Drew McFedries Vs. Tomasz Drwal Tomasz Drwal Wins by Submission (Choke) at 1:03 in the 2nd round by rear naked
Jim Miller Vs. Steve Lopez Jim Miller Wins by Technical Knock Out at 0:48 in the 2nd round. Steve Lopez had to stop due to a shoulder dislocation
Rafaello Oliveira Vs. Nik Lentz Nik Lentz Wins by Unanimous Decision at 5:00 in the 3rd round
Rick Story Vs. Brian Foster Rick Story Wins by Submission (Choke) at 1:09 in the 2nd round by arm triangle
Eliot Marshall Vs. Jason Brilz Eliot Marshall Wins by Split Decision at 5:00 in the 3rd round
Vladimir Matyushenko Vs. Igor Pokrajac Vladimir Matyushenko Wins by Unanimous Decision at 5:00 in the 3rd round
Rob Emerson Vs. Rafael Dos Anjos Rafael Dos Anjos Wins by Unanimous Decision at 5:00 in the 3rd round
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic’s return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship was a short one.
Not long after stopping Mostapha Al-Turk in the first round of UFC 99 on Saturday at Lanxess Arena in his first fight in the UFC since back-to-back losses in 2007, Filipovic informed UFC president Dana White that he had signed a three-fight contract with the Japan-based DREAM.
White had signed Filipovic less than a month ago to a one-fight deal, the first time in more than nine years that he’d done that. He had worked out terms on two additional fights, but said he’d only put pen to paper for Saturday’s bout.
He brought Filipovic back because he knew the Croat is still very popular and Filipovic insisted he wanted to make a run for the title.
That proved not to be the truth. After turning down much tougher opposition, including Cain Velasquez, who defeated Cheick Kongo later on the card, he wound up with the lightly regarded Al-Turk.
But instead of getting a shot at big names like Randy Couture or Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and fighting his way into title contention, Filipovic opted to bolt for Japan.
“Isn’t that a dirty [expletive] thing to do?” White asked rhetorically after being queried about Filipovic’s deal with DREAM. “He [expletived] me. The first time in the history of the company I do one over the phone. He promised me a three-fight deal and he [expletived] me.”
Filipovic looked unsteady and hardly impressive in defeating Al-Turk, who is winless in the UFC. He never landed one of his vaunted kicks and the fight ended not from a punch but when he poked Al-Turk in the eye with his finger.
Referee Dan Miragliotta didn’t see the poke, so it was regarded as a clean blow and Filipovic won by stoppage.
Filipovic was fighting five months to the day after knee surgery, one of several injuries he said kept him from performing at his best in his first stint in the UFC. Before the fight, he called his 1-2 UFC record “the black spot” on his career.
While speaking with reporters on a prefight conference call, Filipovic enthused about his return and said he was gunning for a title shot. All the while, he apparently knew he was in it for a one-fight deal.
He texted White on White’s cellular phone and told him he wanted to return. White said Filipovic declined numerous opponents.
Apparently, Filipovic, who is from Croatia, wanted to fight in Germany and use the UFC bout as a tuneup. He did and is now Dream bound, but he’ll almost certainly never fight in the UFC again.
“He didn’t keep his word,” White said, who said he’d had a two-hour talk with Filipovic on the day Filipovic texted and asked to be able to return. “He talked about honor and all this other [expletive] and he [expletived] me.
“He fed me this bull [expletive] about wanting to take a run for the title, and what I think he did was, he went out and did this. He turned down every other [expletive] fighter I offered him, because I needed him to fight Cain. He didn’t just poke Al-Turk; he poked me, too.”
As is his custom, Filipovic skipped the postfight news conference and could not be reached to comment on the DREAM deal.
Hardy played mind games: Dan Hardy won his grudge match against Marcus Davis, pulling out a split decision. He won 29-28 on the scorecards of judges Doug Crosby and Tony Weeks. Davis prevailed on Andy Roberts’ card by the same score. Yahoo! Sports also had it 29-28 for Davis.
There was bad blood between the two because of a war of words on the Internet. Hardy said he was just trying to provoke Davis because he figured correctly that Davis would take it seriously and that it might affect the way he fought.
“I used a lot of psychological warfare and it bothered him,” Hardy said. “My intention was to bother so it would have an effect on the fight.”
Davis stormed from the cage and declined to shake hands with Hardy. He also failed to appear at the postfight news conference, though he issued a statement in which he demanded a rematch.
“He came into my dressing room to talk after and I said I won,” Davis said in his statement. “He said it was close and he wouldn’t argue. That took something, I guess, but he’s not apologized for going too far with the talking. I won the fight.”
Bonus babies: Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva had an entertaining slugfest before the crowd of 12,854 and wound up winning Fight of the Night honors. They took home an extra $60,000 each for that.
Mike Swick, who stopped Ben Saunders in the second round, won Knockout of the Night. The Submission of the Night went to Terry Etim, who defeated Justin Buchholz with a D’Arce choke. Swick and Etim also earned an extra $60,000.
Big fights: Swick said he was looking for a big fight after scoring back-to-back wins over Jonathan Goulet and Saunders in fights in which he was the bigger name and had the most to lose.
He said he’d like a fight with former welterweight champion Matt Hughes, saying it would be an honor for him.
White had another suggestion since Swick kept talking about big fights.
“Swick is going to fight Rich [Franklin] next at 170,” White said, jokingly, since Franklin fights at light heavyweight There is little doubt that Wanderlei Silva is, physically at least, nowhere near the fighter he was three or four years ago, when he was dominating the PRIDE Fighting Championship’s middleweight division.
He’s long been among a handful of the most popular fighters in mixed martial arts, but his popularity may be at an all-time high despite losing to Rich Franklin in a 195-pound catchweight bout Saturday at Lanxess Arena in the main event of UFC 99.
The crowd of 12,854 roared its approval when Silva walked to the cage and then cheered him vociferously throughout the back-and-forth slugfest.
Franklin, the former UFC middleweight champion, used movement and more accurate punching to pull out the win in the entertaining fight. But as he spoke to in-ring interviewer Joe Rogan after the bout, the crowd booed lustily.
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It is rare to ever hear Franklin booed, as he’s long been one of the UFC’s top attractions and entertaining fighters. Such was the love the crowd had for Silva, who has now lost five of his last six, that it scorned Franklin in favor of the Brazilian.
Franklin said it didn’t bother him and that he actually half-expected it, given Silva’s rock star status among MMA fans.
“Wanderlei has done more in this sport than I have,” Franklin said. “I have a lot of respect and admiration for him as a fighter, much like the fans.”
Every now and then, Silva rocked Franklin with one of the powerful rights than helped him score some of the most dramatic knockout victories in the sport’s history. Too often, though, Silva threw only one punch at a time and Franklin, using his lateral quickness and cage awareness, would dance easily out of range.
If Silva were a two-fisted puncher, he may have had a chance to change the outcome. Instead, Franklin was able to circle frequently away from danger and, except for brief moments when he was on queasy street, he was never in serious jeopardy.
Silva at one stage said he wanted a rematch with Franklin, though he later said he wasn’t sure what the future would hold for him.
“I don’t know about my future,” he said softly, picking at welts and abrasions that covered his face. “My fans are the reason I fight. I love it. The emotion inside the octagon is unbelievable. I love it and I love to share the emotion with the fans. The fans understand this and because of that, the fans respect me.”
So, too, do his opponents. Franklin agreed to meet Silva at a limit of 195 pounds on Saturday as Silva is transitioning from 205 pounds to 185.
Franklin conceded he felt the power at 195 and said he thought Silva could make a major impact at 185.
“He’s always coming forward and once his arms start moving, he’s quick, he’s explosive and he’s dangerous,” Franklin said. “I got caught up in it in the second round and he rocked me a little in there.
“I’ll tell you what: Wanderlei’s been fighting at 205 pounds and he’s a strong fighter. Moving down to 185, he’s going to be strong in that weight class. He’s dangerous. He has knockout power for the 205-pound weight class. When he gets down to 185, it’s going to be even that much worse [for Silva’s opponents].”
Whether he’ll ever make it into the cage for a 185-pound match remains a question, however. Unlike in April, where he said at the postfight news conference following UFC 97 that ex-light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell would retire, UFC president Dana White wasn’t willing to end Silva’s career on Saturday.
He said he’d have a conversation with Silva soon in Las Vegas, where both men live. Silva is one of the sport’s treasures and White needs to do right by him.
What the right answer is, though, is ticklish. No doubt, when he recovers from Saturday’s bout, Silva is going to want to fight again.
One of the reasons he’s so beloved is because he’s always ready to go to battle.
Occasionally, though, fighters like that need to be saved from themselves. He’s been knocked out hard three times in his last six fights and has lost all but one of those.
He’s a wealthy man and said he won’t have to work again once his fighting career is over. Fighters take a risk every time they step into the cage, but the risk increases after a lengthy career and a fighter ages. Silva has lost at least a half-step of quickness and is now getting hit more flush than ever.
With the quality and precision of strikers at an all-time high in the sport, that’s not a good sign for a guy who makes his living standing in front of an opponent and throwing knockout blows.
If Silva opts to fight again, which I suspect he will, UFC matchmaker Joe Silva (no relation) will have to choose his opponent very carefully. And he’ll have to pay particular attention to Silva’s reflexes.
Silva has done far too much for the sport to be trotted to the gate just because he’s a draw. The minute the UFC brass sees the signs of deterioration, they need to go to Silva and pull the plug on a wonderful career.
That night may not be here, but it’s clearly near. Yahoo.com/MMA
Results for UFC 99: Rich Franklin vs Wanderlei Silva - Franklin (Decision) Cheick Kongo Vs. Cain Velasquez - Velasquez (Decision) Mirko Cro Cop Vs Al Turk - Cro Cop (TKO) Mike Swick Vs. Ben Saunders - Swick (TKO) Marcus Davis Vs. Dan Hardy - Hardy (Decision) Spencer Fisher Vs. Caol Uno - Uno
DUBLIN, Ireland – Dan Henderson’s face reflects the carnage a 12-year career as a mixed martial artist will inflict upon a man.
His nose meanders east and west like a country road along his tattered face. He has bumps where it should be smooth and dents where there should be bumps.
Inevitably, though, Henderson has given more than he’s gotten when it comes to rearranging faces, as was the case on Saturday at a packed and roaring O2 Arena.
The 38-year-old former U.S. Olympic wrestler won a split decision over ex-UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin in the main event of UFC 93 by nearly willing his way to the victory.
Franklin may have been quicker, more athletic and might have hit harder. But Henderson again found his way to neutralize an opponent’s skills with his grit and sheer toughness. He’s the kind of guy you imagine would love to have played football in the leather helmet era or hockey goalie before masks were mandatory.
“I just love to get in there and mix it up and fight,” Henderson said about an hour after his second consecutive UFC victory, which earned him the right to serve as a coach on the upcoming season of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
Henderson began his second stint in the UFC after a long and successful run in the PRIDE Fighting Championship. He left that organization holding both its 183- and 205-pound belts, the only fighter in major MMA history holding multiple weight-class titles.
His debut in his second UFC go-round came in a 205-pound title vs. title match with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 75 in London, which he lost by an agonizingly close decision.
In his next time out, he fought for the UFC middleweight title against pound-for-pound kingpin Anderson Silva. Henderson won the first round, becoming the first man in the UFC to take a round in a title fight from Silva, before being submitted in the second.
But Henderson defeated submission expert Rousimar Palhares the last time out and then won an eye-opening victory over Franklin. Judges Chris Lee and Tim Vannatta each scored it 29-28 for Henderson, giving him the first two rounds before awarding Franklin the last round. Inexplicably, Chris Watts gave all three rounds to Franklin.
The win certainly keeps Henderson, who weighed in at 202 pounds Friday, three below the limit (despite holding a large drink while standing on the scale), among the UFC’s elite performers.
He’ll fight Michael Bisping, who is coaching the opposite team in the upcoming season of TUF, in his next outing, which will come only a few months before his 39th birthday on Aug. 24.
Henderson, though, still doesn’t make any concessions to age.
“I feel like I’m the same Dan Henderson [despite my age],” he said. “Obviously, those first two [UFC] fights were two [scheduled] five-round fights. I think I almost prepared for those. I was real ready, conditioning-wise. For whatever reason, I got a little tired this fight in that third round.
“I don’t know if it was from getting nailed in the ribs or just getting tired. Either way, I’m the same fighter. I had a good day today.”
Henderson is a perfectionist who wasn’t ebullient despite beating one of the UFC’s top fighters. Franklin left the middleweight division while still widely regarded as the second-best fighter in the class. He also became an instant contender at 205, almost certainly the UFC’s best class.
Henderson wasn’t pleased that he tired in the third and allowed Franklin to take that round. Most 38-year-old fighters – heck, most fighters, period – would have been happy to walk away with a win over Franklin.
Henderson’s victory puts him in an elite group, joining Silva (twice) and undefeated Lyoto Machida as the only men to defeat Franklin.
“I could have done more in that third round,” Henderson said solemnly while sipping from a bottle of water. “That’s what I’m disappointed about.”
But that was all about his night that wasn’t first-rate. He kept Franklin off-balance, not allowing Franklin to connect regularly with his powerful left hand.
Franklin’s left is one of the game’s most feared weapons, but he never really landed a telling blow with it on Saturday.
Henderson kept his chin tucked low, circled frequently to his left and winged the overhand right for which he’s become famous anytime Franklin ventured into his range. The result was that while Franklin was able to land a number of good kicks, he didn’t do the damage with his hands that he does in most fights.
Henderson just ground him down, as he has so many top-shelf opponents over the years. This is a guy who probably could make 180 pounds if he was required yet has wins over stars such as Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira on his record.
He’s proof that pluck and courage are as critical to a fighter’s success as punching power and wrestling skill.
Henderson has plenty of all of them, but he’s overloaded with the first two assets. He understands the significance of the win but was picking apart his performance afterward and finding things he wasn’t pleased with.
That’s another sign of a great fighter.
“I’m very happy that I won. Don’t get me wrong,” Henderson said. “But it would have sat a lot better with me if I had a better third round. Maybe I’m my own worst critic, but I always like to finish strong in fights and keep going. I kind of slowed down in the third round, and there’s no reason I should have.
“I always feel like I have something to prove to myself and make sure I perform to the level I’m capable of performing. That’s probably why I could be a little happier after that win. I felt I could have performed a lot better in that third round. I haven’t been concerned what the public feels and who the favorites are. Ultimately, it comes down to performing in the fight.”
And few men in the modern history of MMA have performed more gallantly, more successfully and more fearlessly than one Dan Henderson.
In an incredibly surprising fight Rashad Evans has knocked out the former light heavy weight champion Chuck Liddell in UFC 88. Chuck Liddell went for a fierce upper cut and Rashad Evans countered with a right hook and knocked out Chuck Liddell with no follow up needed. This propels Rashad Evans very far up the 205 ladder and puts Chuck Liddell’s future in question. What do you think the future holds for Chuck, should he retire?
UFC 88 Main Card Fight Results
Chuck Lidell vs. Rashad Evans Rashad Evans defeats Chuck Liddell by KO - Round 2 Rich Franklin vs. Matt Hamill Rich Franklin defeats Matt Hamill BY TKO - Round 3 Dan Henderson vs. Rousimar Palhares Dan Henderson defeats Rousimar Palhares via Unanimous Decision Nate Marquardt vs. Martin Kampmann Nate Marquardt defeats Martin Kampmann by TKO (Strikes) - Round 1 Matt Brown vs. Dong Hyun Kim Dong Hyun Kim defeats Matt Brown by Split Decision Preliminary UFC 88 Fight Results Kurt Pellegrino vs. Thiago Tavares Kurt Pellegrino defeats Thiago Tavares by unanimous decision Mike Patt vs. Tim Boetsch Tim Boetsch defeats Mike Patt by TKO (Strikes) - Round 1 Jason MacDonald vs Jason Lambert Jason MacDonald defeats Jason Lambert by Submission (RNC) - Round 2 Ryo Chonan vs. Roan Carneiro Ryo Chonan defeats Roan Carneiro by Split Decision
![Rich Franklin
KOs Chuck Liddell [UFC 115]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_v721Y6CQRfVo5ypYSak_fJ3BeSFpTyMhMZWcHPT-v2mNZ8TlhI66cB83mUPaxy8spl0fyM6Y1K2wTnJQFVoaoQjJaC=s0-d)
Barry down briefly. More knees to the bodies preceded a ref restart. Cro Cop advanced behind double jabs. Then a side kick landed for the Croation. Barry slipped on a high kick and Mirko locked on a front choke. Then he put Barry down on his back. Barry managed to hold Mirko close, but Filopovic worked for better position and attained mount. Then he got Barry's back and worked for a rear naked choke! Barry flipped over but Cro Cop held dominant position to the end of the round. Great come back for Filopovic.
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