UFC 103 Results: Belfort Knocks Out Franklin, dos Santos Forces Filipovic To Verbally Submit
In the UFC 103 headlining bout between former UFC champions Rich Franklin and Vitor Belfort, Belfort made good on his return to the UFC. The Brazilian rocked Franklin with a right, then dropped him with a left before forcing Yves Lavigne to call a stop to the contest with more punches to the downed Franklin.
In the evening’s co-main event Junior dos Santos battered the legend Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic through out the first two rounds of the fight. Filipovic looked his best in the first round of the fight, but as the fight wore on dos Santos took over. In the third round, it was more of the same, and eventually dos Santos forced Filipovic verbally submit after landing a combination of knees and punches to his head.
UFC debutant Paul Daley made good on his debut, upsetting UFC veteran Martin Kampmann with a first round TKO. With the TKO loss for Kampann, any title hopes he had coming into the bout have been spoiled. Daley’s victory over Kampmann gives him a strong injection into the UFC’s welterweight division.
In Frank Trigg’s return to the UFC, Josh Koscheck played spoiler and ended his night in the first round with a series of strikes, beginning on the feet, and then finishing him on the ground.
Both bouts on the SpikeTV televised portion of the card ended early. In the first bout Drew McFedries did not look his usual self, and eventually succumbed to a rear naked choke at 1:03 of the second round. In the second of the scheduled SpikeTV bouts, Efrain Escudero ended Cole Miller’s night early, with a first round technical knock out, 3:30 in.
The official results for UFC 103 were:
- Vitor Belfort def. Rich Franklin via KO — 3:02 Round 1
- Junior Dos Santos def. Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic via verbal submission (strikes) — 2:00 Round 3
- Paul Daley def. Martin Kampmann via TKO — 2:31 Round 1
- Josh Koscheck def. Frank Trigg via TKO — 1:25 Round 1
- Tyson Griffin def. Hermes Franca via KO — 3:26 Round 2
- Efrain Escudero def. Cole Miller via TKO — 3:36 Round 1
- Tomasz Drwal def. Drew McFedries via submission (rear naked choke) — 1:03 Round 2
- Jim Miller def. Steve Lopez via TKO (shoulder injury) — 0:48 Round 2
- Nick Lentz def. Rafaello Oliveira via unanimous decision — 29-28 (2x), 30-27
- Rick Story def. Brian Foster via submission (arm triangle) — 1:09 Round 2
- Eliot Marshall def. Jason Brilz via split decision — 30-27 (2x), 27-30
- Vladimir Matyushenko def. Igor Pokrajac via unanimous decision — all three judges scored the bout 30-27
- Rafael dos Anjos def. Rob Emerson via unanimous decision — all three judges scored the bout 30-27
Tags: Brian Foster, Cole Miller, Drew McFedries, Efrain Escudero, Elliot Marshall, Frank Trigg, Hermes Franca, Igor Pokrajac, Jason Brilz, jim miller, Josh Koscheck, Junior dos Santos, Martin Kampmann, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, Nik Lentz, Paul Daley, Rafael dos Anjos, Rafaello Oliveira, Rich Franklin, Rick Story, rob emerson, Steve Lopez, Tomasz Drwal, Tyson Griffin, Vitor Belfort, Vladimir Matyushenko
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Wowzers. All the “mods” were right about Crocop!
this has thrown fight written all over it. franklin has taken alot worse. i hate to say that but i think rich jumped the gun on that grazed punch and looked a little to hurt in my opinion. big shots afterwards,yes, but after rewinding dvr a slowing it down, something just stinks of a thrown fight. watch it im telling you, a shot like that would not hurt rich franklin in a million years. god i hope im wrong
Yeah, you are wrong. Vitor Belfort hits hard, really hard. Franklin was wobbles a couple times by Wanderlei in his last fight, and IMO Belfort hits much harder. Belfort rocked him and didn’t let up.
Side note: I have about had it with people calling fights fixed, this isn’t flipping boxing, and I guarantee Dana won’t make that same mistake that boxing made.
Travis sweigart if you actually watch the fight properly he actual goes to the ground when Vitor push’s him with his right forearm and land two short hooks, The grazed punch was not the culprit.
“Thrown fight”?!
Really?
In conjunction with 2 of the classiest guys in the sport, and a probably Hall of Famer in Franklin?
THATS what you want to post under your name?
Better you than me…
The phenom is back, yeah.
Felt bad for Lopez. That just looked nasty.
picked the right fighters for the entire main card cept for daily
Every single one of my picks went to sh!t!!! Except one. Gun you know what time it is. I have a few pics in photoshop now workin on your personal masterpiece. Will fill you in soon bro.
Cro Cop is through.
Vitor seriously wants a piece of Anderson Silva. From a strategical standpoint especially. You heard it here first, if they fight LIGHTS OUT SILVA.
Do you think Anderson Silva would sign a contract for that fight if his boy Machida somehow loses to Rua?
I’m thinking that if Machida loses, Silva will want Rua, and Belfort will get the Hendo-Marquardt winner…
For me that’s a big “if” jcohl. But no I don’t see Anderson being as interested in Belfort as he would the LHW title if Machida were to lose next month. What if Machida wins though? With Henderson/ Marquardt booked and Okami/ Sonnen booked as well, where does Belfort go from here? Even though he beat one of the UFC’s greatest fighters I don’t think he’s deserving of the title shot just yet…But who can he fight? Demian Maia would be the only real viable option if he is presumed to be on the title path which he certainly is. Maybe we’ll see Anderson/ Mir if Machida retains his belt or Silva vs another top LHW. The MW division is kinda screwy right now it’ll be interesting to see who they match Belfort up against next thats not a step down from Rich.
Dana is hinting that Belfort will in fact fight A. Silva next. The Hendo/Marquardt fight is not booked, in fact I’m not even sure if Hendo is back in the UFC yet, remember that whole free agent thing from not too long ago.
Remembered that soon after I posted, something made me think the deal was inked. Thanks for the clarification. Just means the MW division is even more discombobulated then I first supposed.
Great return for Belfort, horrible returns for Trigg and Mirko, and a stunning debut for Semtex, which by the way my boy marvelknight4 predicted days ago…
Technically this wasn’t Mirko’s return, though I very nearly fell into that trap writing the article.
Well if you almost made the same mistake then I don’t feel so bad about it…
wow……… the first ufc fight card i miss in over a year…….and the whole main card was tko’s and ko’s…..
i hate my life….
If you’ve ever read any of my stuff on what I like to see in MMA, this was like a dream card for me, with the decisions on the underwhelming undercard…
I didnt even get to see the free prelims man! What a waste of a night! Im never ditching a ufc fight for a concert w/ my gf ever again. Ever.
Mirko looked so weird in that fight. He look terrified. Just stood there so stiff and new. Weird. I hope this isn’t the last of Crocop, but if he coninues to fight this way, he’s gonna be done soon.
None of us know Mirko’s future, but he’s not going to find a better match-up for him than a young relatively inexperienced fighter willing to stand and trade with him.
Maybe Mirko needs to sit down and decide if the UFC in 2009/10 is right for him. PRIDE was a lifetime ago in MMA years, and he’s not getting any younger, and the HW talent level is going thru the roof right now.
I wish him luck in whatever he decides to do…
I agree. Maybe switch up camps and try new things. I also think Wanderlei should do the same. I think alot of the UFC fighters have so much tape to study from, they know exactly how to avoid their dangerous strikes. As if they know these guys (Chuck Lidell too) aren’t going to change up their style. Look at Big Nog, he look so impressive over Randy. That wasn’t the same Nogueira i’ve seen 3-5 fights ago. Idk, it makes me kind of sad. I hope Crocop will head kick his way to a UFC belt!
i told you guys daley would win
and i predicted dailey to win when i 1st found out he was fighting kampmann, i should get props, i wanna see daley vs matt brown, or maybe mike swick??? that would be an explosive fight dont you think
Ooh yeah, I give you props on the Matt Brown vs. Paul Daley. I like Semtex, he just looked like crap in EliteXC. No ground game, but I din’t count him out. But Kampmann is awesome, too bad.
Well guys if you heard what Dana was sayin in the conference after the fights its sounds like Dana wants “Belfort vs Anderson” Dana said “I think Belfort maybe ready for Silva now” and he tried to get “Henderson Vs. Marquardt for ufc 105″ Failed tho.. so I think thats Dana’s focus at the moment Henderson / Marquardt and Belfort / Silva .. I cann’t say he’s wrong tho ,but I mean Belfort looked amazing in his last 2 fights destroying Lindland and Franklin without taking more then like 10 shots or less from both together and knocking both out, went you think about it only the best has stopped Franklin. On the other hand Marquardt and Henderson seem to be tied as in which 1 of them should get a title shot first so it only makes sense to have them to fight for it.
I think Belfort has looked so impressive that if he wanted to he could take a shot at Middle Weight title or Light Heavy Weight title. I mean if your a challenge for Anderson , then your probably a challenge for Machida. Plus Lyoto got a long break to wait for another challenger after Shogun.
belfort might be able to pull it off vs machida…
someody tell him to watch bj penn vs machida, if he wants to win. IMHO…
yeah mirko verbally submitted, or just got a thumb shoved in his eye….. strange days in the ufc
103 seriously sucked.
lots of lame finishes. i think the ufn 19 was better.
So I guess tour the type of guy who wants to see ppl ko’ed on the floor, looking like a fish out of water? Only the trig fight IMO was stopped early and well even that was border line. JUST COZ A GUY IS STILL ON HIS FEET DOESN’T MEAN HE IS NOT KO’ED. I personally don’t want to see somebody killed just for fans to get the blood lust thrills.
I thought 103 was great. It was what a fan wants, mostly KO’s!
Trigg said via his twitter today that his fight was a “great stoppage”. Just so you know.
I was there in Dallas…I was for sure the only non cro cop fan and I tell you what no one liked me when I cheered dos santos on and frankly I could care less… he does one thing and thats all…circle one way throw a kick or punch and thats all..He deserved his ass beat..
Belfort looked good but needs to fight his way through the hordes of great 185lb fighters…I will tell you this and you all can quote me…HE WILL GET BEAT BY ANDERSON>>>
BELFORT VS anderson, Anderson wins (i think )
Not too sure about that, but I’d need to see Belfort fight again before making a determination one way or another…
Who does Belfort start with at 185? If Hendo fights Nate, that takes them out…all time-lines working out, does he fight Maia?? Wanderlei?
Belfort would do to Maia what Marquardt just did to him.
Really from all standpoints Belfort is making the best sense for Anderson’s next fight. Silva only wants to fight big names, and big challenges. Hendo understandably rejected Danas renegged offer to fight Marquardt, as a result he’s not likely to get the title shot right away. Same with Marquardt. It would make for a big draw so Dana and Joe Silva would be prone to sign off on it. Surely Belfort can’t wait for a shot to have that belt around his waist again… From virtually all angles it makes sense to everyone involved, the fans would get a show as well. Personally I’m sticking with my notion that one fight doesn’t make you an instant contender, even if it was destroying a top fighter in record time. I think he needs one more big name under his belt before he gets Anderson but I will not be at all surprised if/when Dana announces that Anderson’s next fight will be against The Phenom.
Anderson only had one fight before he fought Rich. And, if you count Belfort’s KO of Lindland as beating a “top contender”, which some consider(ed) Lindland to be, plus beating Franklin, that helps his credentials in deserving a shot.
I think its this plain and simple:
Vitor Belfort will wind up fighting Anderson Silva because Dana White won’t or can’t admit to himself that he made a mistake by promising title shots to 2 different contenders without checking with the champion first to make sure he’d sign to fight both of them.
Now I realize on the surface it sounds ridiculous, and Silva should simply face whoever he’s told to face by his boss, regardless of whether or not he’s already beaten these contenders in the past, but by now we all know thats not going to happen.
So, Dana will do what Dana always does, and sidestep the problem by sidestepping both Hendo and Marquardt, and plugging in Belfort, and will use the “reasoning” that if Belfort can beat the last 185 champion, he deserves a shot at the current 185 champion.
In Dana’s mind, he thinks he’ll be “teaching a lesson” to Hendo and/or Marquardt, and he’ll get a big money fight in Belfort-Silva.
And he may be right.
Unfortunately the odd man out here is Marquardt, who to the best of my knowledge hasn’t waved off fighting anyone, which can’t be said for either Silva or Hendo.
Silva will basically be making his own matches from here on out, and Hendo will most likely next be seen at 205, or 195, against Lord knows who.
Maybe rematching Rampage in a “who’s higher on Dana’s sh!tlist” bout.
We keep hearing about these mythic 3 fights that Silva has left on his contract, as if there is something keeping him from signing an extension, and by something I mean a fu<ktarded boxing match with Roy Jones Jr, or maybe some sort of throwdown with Fedor in Saitama.
However if Silva insists on only fighting 3 more times, and Dana is unable to come to terms with him for any sort of contract extension, then in all likelihood we'll see Silva face Belfort, possibly Rua if he finds a way to beat Machida, and ostensibly the winner of Hendo-Marquardt if that fight ever drops.
Also there is always the spectre of some spectacle fight like Silva versus a HW like Frank Mir, or….
I could actually see Silva retaining at 185, shutting down Rua [if he beats Machida] at 205, and then asking for a HW title fight with Brock Lesnar for his final UFC fight.
That would be a hattrick, and he would walk away from the UFC with 3 belts in 3 different weight classes, and STILL be young enough to take on RJJ in a boxing match, and then Fedor for some sort of imaginary best ever ever ever MMA fighter uber-championship.
By my fuzzy math that would be 3 UFC fights, and then Silva would be free to box or dance with the stars or do some VH-1 reality show wherein 12 promising fighters all move into a p!mp house, and go thru a series of dehumanizing challanges and scenarios, and the winner gets a fight with the Spider…
There’s a few problems with your scenario.
1. Dana insists that Silva will not be fighting at HW.
2. Champions clause.
3. If Silva were to fight Brock, I think he would get GnPed from the get go, and really not be able to do anything.
First, Dana can insist all he wants, but thus far he doesn’t seem to have his p!mp hand none too strong when it comes to Anderson Silva.
Second, considering as how Dana sort of has a policy for his boys and a policy for everyone else, I’m sure something could be worked out there, if both parties genuinely wanted to.
Third, I completely agree that Anderson Silva wouldn’t have a chance in He11 of claiming the UFC HW title, but even though I should have made it clearer in my post, my scenario was from the promotional and Silva POVs, not based in actuality.
In many posts both in the commentaries and the forum I’ve gone on record as saying that regardless of how much noise Silva makes at 185 or 205, against the Vanilla Gorilla the Spider would probably need help out of the cage and back to the lockerroom…
I think CroCop looked scared and needs to contemplate his future in mma. Maybe a step down to LHW? I don’t think he’s looked the same since getting “CroCopped” by Gonzaga.
As far as Rich and Belfort, it looked like Franklin got hit with the same punch that Lesnar dropped Randy with. Then he got hit with a couple sledgehammers afterward.
Cro cop is finished every single time i have seen him in the UFC he seems so slow and wont throw anything and plods along. Belfort looked good but can he make 185 ? he was over weight at 195 and remember this is a guy who fought at Heavyweight. I think he has the best chance of knocking out Anderson Silva than anyone atm
Just a quick point to see if anyone agrees with me
But how refreshing was it to hear Belfort comments after the fight when he said that Anderson Silva was his friend and he likes him but he will fight anyone that they put in there with him. Makes a change from alot of the fighters now who say they wont fight certain people cause of friendships. I think when a person enters the world of MMA then freindship with another fighter should not stop them and if it does like it is with some fighters then perhaps they sould look into another career possibly. Just my thoughts
I thought it was pretty interesting for Belfort to say that, then at the post fight Tyson Griffin said he would be willing to fight Gray Maynard (Xtreme Couture training partner) if necessary. And then beside them was Josh Koscheck saying “I’ll fight anyone anytime” despite the AKA position of “We don’t fight each other.”
Maybe word has disseminated from Dana’s office that he’s lost his “fu<king" patience with all of this "we can't fight because we're boys…we can't fight because we train at the same camp…we can't fight because our moms sit together in church" noise coming out of a disturbing number of fighters these days…
I don’t know what happened to Rich Franklin… The rich from the original UFC woulda whooped up on belfort… Oh well even the best have to go down sometimes, just ask the “Iceman”. He went down to Dancing with the Stars!! OUCH!