LIDDELL KO’D FOURTH TIME IN FIVE FIGHTS
Vancouver, BC– Rich Franklin, 205, Cincinnati, OH KO 1 Chuck Liddell, 205, San Luis Obispo, CA. It doesn’t seem like Liddell (21-8, 13 KOs, 1 SUB) gained anything from taking time off or cleaning up his lifestyle as he was once again blitzed in the first round, this time at the hands of Franklin (26-5, 14 KOs, 9 SUBs). Liddell was able to connect on occasion before the end came, and damaged Franklin’s left arm with a kick. Franklin said he felt the arm was broken, but managed to fight through it and eventually catch Liddell coming in knocking the one-time face of the UFC unconscious. This surely will mark the end of the career of Chuck Liddell.
“CRO COP” NOTCHES SIGNIFICANT WIN
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, 235, Zagreb, Croatia SUB 3 Pat Barry, 248, Milwaukee, WI. While I expected this fight to be finished before the final bell, I never expected it to end via a submission. Things started off shaky for Cro Cop (28-6-2, 20 KOs, 4 SUBs) as he was dropped twice by Barry (5-2, 5 KOs) via right hands in the first frame. However, as the fight wore on Cro Cop got into his rhythm and eventually began to pick Barry apart, eventually pummeling him on the ground and securing a rear naked choke to finish the fight.
Martin Kampmann, 170, Las Vegas, NV UD 3 Paulo Thiago, 170, Brasilia, Brazil. While I expected Thiago (13-2, 2 KOs, 8 SUBs) to control position in this fight, it was the exact opposite. Kampmann (17-3, 7 KOs, 6 SUBs) made Thiago look out of place as he completely controlled the fight standing, on the ground and in the clinch. Kampmann looked better than ever and his stock definitely went way up.
“BIG BEN” PREVAILS IN COMEBACK
Ben Rothwell, 264, Kenosha, WI UD 3 Gilbert Yvel, 243, Amsterdam, Holland, the Netherlands. Rothwell (30-7, 17 KOs, 11 SUBs) came out charging at a very fast pace looking anxious to erase the memory of his last fight in which he was knocked out quickly by Cain Velasquez (8-0, 7 KOs). The fight went back and forth and at one point Yvel (36-15-1, 31 KOs, 5 SUBs) was almost able to get a stoppage with some vicious strikes from the top, but Rothwell was able to survive the onslaught and get the better of the positions on the ground which secured the victory for him.
ALBUQUERQUE KID A WIINER BY TKO
Carlos Condit, 170, Albuquerque, NM TKO 3 Rory Macdonald, 170, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. For the first two rounds, MacDonald (10-1, 4 KOs, 6 SUBs) looked to be superior fighter as he was able to consistently get the better of Condit (25-5, 11 KOs, 13 SUBs) wherever the fight went. In the third round however, Condit turned it on and turned it around as he dealt out a lot of punishment to the young undefeated Macdonald. With just seconds to go in the fight, the ref called off the fight after the accumulation of blows had Macdonald in a daze.
Matt “All Meat” Grizzle