A torn eyelid and other damage suffered in the loss will force Cro Cop to be cleared by a doctor before he could return to action.

Rich Franklin, Martin Kampmann, Frank Trigg, Hermes Franca, Cole Miller, and Steve Lopez were all suspended until October 20 after suffering knockout losses on the card.

The remainder of the event’s 26 fighters were issued mandatory minimum suspensions until September 27 or 29.

Check out the UFC 103 category for more UFC 103 coverage.

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

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)
Vitor Belfort vs. Rich Franklin Prediction:
Belfort def. Rich Franklin via (T)KO — Round 2
I personally will be pulling for Rich Franklin to pick up another victory in this bout, as I’m sure many other fans will be as well. However, Vitor Belfort has been on a role lately and has devastating power in his speedy hands. If Franklin can avoid Belfort’s power, he has a chance at pulling this victory out with a decision, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. I think Belfort is going to be too quick and too strong for Franklin, and will pull off the TKO in the second round. Franklin will be smart, and careful enough to avoid Belfort’s power for a while, but eventually he will be too slow getting out of the way of Belfort’s hands and will get caught.

Junior Dos Santos vs. Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic Prediction:
Junior dos Santos def. Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic via (T)KO — Round 1
Like the last bout, I will likely be pulling for the fighter I see as the underdog, Cro Cop is a legend, and I really want him to do well this time around in the UFC. Cro Cop is a top level striker, and has knocked out some of the best fighters in the world, but in recent years he seems to have lost some of his speed and power. Junior dos Santos is a hungry young fighter, with dynamite in his hands, and impressive speed. Cro Cop’s ability to avoid damage recently has been suspect in m opinion, and I think that dos Santos will overwhelm him early and not let up, putting him down in the first round.

Martin Kampmann vs. Paul Daley Prediction:
Martin Kampmann def. Paul Daley via submission — Round 1
Paul Daley is making his UFC debut filling in for Mike Swick on short notice, though he was already slated to fight on the card. Kampmann is a top level fighter, who boasts heavy hands and a strong ground game. Daley is an outstanding stand up fighter, with knock out power, but Kampmann is no slouch in the striking department. The difference in this fight will likely be Daley’s relative lack of a ground game. I expect Kampmann to take Daley down early and ground and pound his way beyond Daley’s submission defense, and eventually lock in a fight ending submission.

Josh Koscheck vs. Frank Trigg Prediction:
Frank Trigg def. Josh Koscheck via unanimous decision
I think that Trigg and Koscheck are similar fighters, and I think that Trigg’s experience will pay dividends in this fight. Both fighters have good hands, and good wrestling and this fight could take place anywhere. Though both fighters are capable of ending fights, I don’t see it happening in this one, especially since I’m predicting Trigg for the win and his last few have come via decision. I will admit that I’m partly selected with my heart and not my head on this one, I just really like watching Koscheck lose.

Hermes Franca vs. Tyson Griffin Prediction:
Tyson Griffin def. Hermes Franca via unanimous decision
Tyson Griffin is a top level fighter from Sacramento with a strong wrestling base. He has won multiple “Fight of the Night” honors and will definitely be pushing the action against Hermes Franca tonight. Franca has shown a past weakness against strong wrestlers and I expect more of the same here. I believe Griffin will grind out a decision with crisper striking on the feet, and some quality take downs and top control.

PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike TV)

Erain Escudero vs. Cole Miller Prediction:
Cole Miller def. Efrain Escudero via submission — Round 2
Escudero is a strong wrestler with capable ground and pound, but I think Miller is the more complete fighter and will catch Escudero in the second, possibly set up by rocking him standing.

Tomasz Drwal vs. Drew McFedries Prediction:
Drew McFedries def. Tomasz Drwal via (T)KO — Round 1
This bout will probably be over quick. Both men have won “Knockout of the Night” honors in previous outings, and will likely come out swinging for the fences. In some ways I think the outcome of this fight depends on who connects first, and I think that will be McFedries, who I also believe possesses more power.

PRELIMINARY CARD (Non-Televised)
Predictions:

• Jim Miller def. Steve Lopez via submission — Round 1
• Rafaello Oliveira def. Nick Lentz via split decision
• Rick Story def. Brian Foster via unanimous decision
• Elliot Marshall def. Jason Brilz via submission — Round 2
• Vladimir Matyushenko def. Igor Pokrajac via (T)KO — Round 3
• Rob Emerson def. Rafael dos Anjos via (T)KO — Round 1

KRIS KARKOSKI’s UFC 103 QUICK PREDICTIONS

• Vitor Belfort def. Rich Franklin via (T)KO — Round 2
• Junior Dos Santos def. Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic via (T)KO — Round 2
• Martin Kampmann def. Paul Daley via (T)KO — Round 3
• Josh Koscheck def. Frank Trigg via unanimous decision
• Tyson Griffin def. Hermes Franca via unanimous decision
• Cole Miller def. Efrain Escudero via submission — Round 2
• Tomasz Drwal def. Drew McFedries via (T)KO — Round 1
• Jim Miller def. Steve Lopez via unanimous decision
• Rafaello Oliveira def. Nick Lentz via unanimous decision
• Rick Story def. Brian Foster via submission — Round 2
• Jason Brilz def. Eliot Marshall via (T)KO — Round 3
• Vladimir Matyushenko def. Igor Pokrajac via unanimous decision
• Rob Emerson def. Rafael dos Anjos via (T)KO — Round 2

FR702’s UFC 103 PREDICTIONS

• Rich Franklin def. Vitor Belfort via unanimous decision
  I honestly believe that Rich will win this via UD, and stay just a step ahead of Vitor… Belfort isn’t going to run straight out and attack wildly but for some reason I just see Rich being the victor in this bout… Watchout for the left Rich because if you get touched you might go down…
• Junior dos Santos def. Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic via (T)KO — round 1
  As much as I personally want to see the Left High Kick ko from Cro Cop, I have to admit that I see dos Santos winning this bout in first via (t)ko.
• Martin Kampmann def. Paul Daley via submission — Round 2
  Paul Daley stepping up and face a very tough guy on short notice, I was seriously looking forward to seeing Swick v Kampmann but hey this will do. No doubt that Daley holds power, and really needs to work on his ground technique I just see Martin overwhelming him with speed and takedowns and Kampmann wins this via submission in round 2. I see this fight being very similar to Kampmann v McFedries.
• Josh Koscheck def. Frank Trigg via unanimous decision
  Welcome back Trigg, for your first fight you have to face a guy that is just as good as you in wrestling someone who has better submission technique than you do and perhaps has faster more powerful hands. Plus you dissed me and Eric at the Loews in Philly, I do however believe that this fight will go to a decision and it will be unanimous for Koscheck.
• Tyson Griffin def. Hermes Franca via unanimous decision
  I see this being a battle of wills and I can’t bring myself to give Franca the win by any means. Sure he hits hard and has great subs but Griffin can take a punch and we all know that he DOES NOT TAP. Franca has his own issues with strong wrestlers, so in this fight I’m going with Griffin via unanimous decision.
• Cole Miller def. Efrain Escudero via unanimous decision
• Drew McFedries def. Tomasz Drawl via unanimous decision
• Jim Miller def. Steve Lopez via (T)KO — round 2
• Rafaello Oliveira def. Nick Lentz via submission — Round 2
• Brian Foster def. Rick Story via unanimous decision
• Elliot Marshall def. Jason Brilz via submission — Round 2
• Vladimir Matyushenko def. Igo Pokrajac via (T)KO — Round 2
• Rafael dos Anjos def. Rob Emerson via unanimous decision

Spike TV-televised combatant Efrain Escudero failed to make weight on his first attempt, weighing in at 157 pounds, one pound over the the non-title lightweight limit of 156. He, like Belfort, was given time to shed the extra weight and did so, weighing in at 156 pounds on a subsequent attempt.

The rest of the fighters on the 13-bout card, including main card fighters Josh Koscheck and Frank Trigg, successfully made weight on their first attempts for the Spike and pay-per-view televised event.

The official weigh-in results for UFC 103 were:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)

• Vitor Belfort (196) vs. Rich Franklin (195)
• Junior Dos Santos (236) vs. Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (226)
• Martin Kampmann (169.5) vs. Paul Daley (170)
• Josh Koscheck (170) vs. Frank Trigg (170.25)
• Hermes Franca (159) vs. Tyson Griffin (155.5)^

PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike TV)

• Efrain Escudero (156) vs. Cole Miller (155)
• Tomasz Drwal (185) vs. Drew McFedries (185.25)

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Steve Lopez (154.5) vs. Jim Miller (154.5)
• Nick Lentz (155) vs. Rafaello Oliveira (155.25)
• Brian Foster (170.75) vs. Rick Story (170)
• Jason Brilz (205.25) vs. Elliot Marshall (204.75)
• Vladimir Matyushenko (205) vs. Igor Pokrajac (203)
• Rafael dos Anjos (155.5) vs. Rob Emerson (155.5)

*Belfort and Escudero each weighed-in over the limit for their bouts and have been given additional time to lose the additional weight.
^ These fighters agreed prior to the weigh-ins to meet at a catchweight of 159 pounds.

Stop back tomorrow for live UFC 103 coverage, as well as MMAFrenzy.com’s fight night recap and post-event news.

Click here for more UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort Coverage.

White opened the call by addressing the UFC’s attempt to sign Fedor Emelianenko following the recent-collapse of Affliction’s MMA promotion, saying the UFC offered him an “amazing” deal that won’t be matched anywhere else and satisfied all requests except co-promotion. Though White expected a deal to get done, the two sides have thus far been unable to reach an agreement, though he says Fedor’s management at M-1 Global can call him anytime to accept the offer.

The first announcement by the UFC President was the signing of Belfort, who was scheduled to fight at Affliction’s recently-canceled “Trilogy” event against Jorge Santiago, a winner of four-straight who returns to the UFC for the first time since 2005 and moves up to 195-pounds* to face the light heavyweight contender Franklin.

White also announced that Henderson, Franklin’s original opponent for the UFC 103 headliner who is coming off a recent knockout of Michael Bisping, will instead wait to meet middleweight title-holder Anderson Silva in his next fight. A date for the matchup has not yet been set pending Silva’s fight against Forrest Griffin next Saturday at UFC 101, but could take place “very soon” if Silva suffers little damage in the bout.

Tito Ortiz’s return to the UFC was also made official during the press conference, with White saying the former light heavyweight champ could fight the Hall of Famer Coleman at the UFC’s New Year’s show.

Other announcements included:

• The UFC has signed a three-year deal with ESPN’s new UK network, with fights slated to be broadcast free and in HD in both the UK and Ireland.
• Former Affliction fighters Belfort, Paul Daley, Paul Buentello, Ben Rothwell, Chase Gormley, and Dan Lauzon were confirmed to have signed with the UFC, with Javier Vazquez, LC Davis, and Mark Hominick are signed to the WEC. Up to 10 more former Affliction fighters remain in talks to join the promotions.

Minute-by-minute notes from the media conference call, including additional details on the UFC’s negotiations with Fedor and other news and notes, can be found below.

2:00pm ET: The UFC conference calls generally start a few minutes after their scheduled star time so stay tuned as we’ll be underway momentarily.

2:03pm: The call is now underway.

2:05pm: The UFC has signed Vitor Belfort, who will headline UFC 103 against Rich Franklin. Franklin’s previously-scheduled opponent Dan Henderson is next in line to fight Anderson Silva, according to White.

2:07pm: The UFC has signed a 3-year deal with ESPN UK, starting with UFC 101 on August 8th.

2:08pm: White confirms that Tito Ortiz is returning to the UFC and will retire with the promotion.

2:10pm: Dana confirms the signing of a number of Affliction fighters, says many are signed with UFC and WEC with up to 10 more still in talks. Paul Daley, Ben Rothwell, Chase Gormley, and Dan Lauzon confirmed to have signed with the UFC, with Javier Vazquez, LC Davis, and Mark Hominick all signed to the WEC.

2:12pm: Ortiz, who is also on the call, says he was just cleared last week to resume full training following back surgery and hopes to fight before the end of the year, specifically mentioning the New Year’s show.

2:14pm: Belfort-Franklin will be at light heavyweight (205 pounds)

2:15pm: White says Mark Coleman is likely to be Ortiz’s first opponent when he returns, says Ortiz won’t get any easy fights but will be rusty after his time off.

2:17pm: Asked about what “co-promotion” means, White says M-1 wanted half but would not benefit the UFC.

2:18pm: Asked about an ESPN deal in the US, White says they’re always negotiating with networks but offers not details on rumored negotiations.

2:19pm: The Nate Marquardt-Demian Maia winner is “in the mix” at 185-pounds, but Henderson is definitely next.

2:25pm: Dana White says UFC “can’t be stopped”, is coming to TV in Russia and Japan among others.

2:29pm: Timeline for Henderson-Silva depends on Silva’s fight with Griffin, but could be “very soon” if Silva sustains little damage.

2:30pm: The UFC has “no interest” in Arlovski or Sylvia.

2:30pm: White says he’s working to fulfill his promise of base jumping off the Mandalay Bay since UFC 100 surpassed 1.5 million buys.

2:32pm: White says he “doesn’t know” about a rematch between Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell.

2:33pm: White says he’s “ready to make a deal” to bring Fedor Emelianenko to the UFC and was confident deal was going to happen, says M-1 can call him anytime.

2:38pm: White says major deal which was being worked on last month in Los Angeles should be finalized soon, but offers no details.

2:39pm: White says he “buried the hatchet” with Affliction, including Tom Atencio.

2:41pm: UFC 100 drew 25 million viewers, UFC 101 episode of UFC Unleashed had 18 million viewers in Mexico. Live event in the works for the country.

2:44pm: Co-promotion with M-1 will “never happen,” partially due to the Fertitta’s gaming license.

2:54pm: Dana says UFC showed Fedor and M-1 “nothing but respect,” offer allowed Fedor to fight Sambo “every Thursday night” if he wanted to.

2:57pm: Ortiz calls Strikeforce’s Scott Coker “an awesome guy,” but says there’s not enough competition in Strikeforce.

2:59pm: Dana says unlike boxing, UFC would put big fights on network TV if deal gets done.

3:00pm: Ortiz reiterates that contract with UFC runs until his career is over, wants to fight as long as possible.

–END–

* Dana White announced that Franklin-Belfort would be at 205-pounds, but Franklin updated his Twitter to say that the fight will be at a 195-pound catchweight at Belfort’s request.

As soon as it was made official, many questioned the headlining matchup between the middleweight contender Henderson and light heavyweight contender Franklin. The fight guaranteed a loss for one of the fighters and forced Henderson to move up to light heavyweight despite being in line for a 185-pound title-shot with his UFC 100 knockout of Michael Bisping.

Though announced, Franklin-Henderson has yet to added to the official fight card for the pay-per-view and rumors are now making the rounds that Dan Henderson vs. Vitor Belfort and Rich Franklin vs. Tito Ortiz could co-headline the September 19 event in Dallas.

Even before Affliction’s  decision to shut down its MMA promotion this week to return to the UFC as a sponsor, UFC President Dana White had announced his intention to bring veteran Vitor Belfort back to the UFC, possibly for a fight against middleweight champion Anderson Silva, should he win his August 1 bout against Jorge Santiago. With the fight now canceled and Belfort left without a promotion to call home, a bout against Henderson at UFC 103 could determine the top contender in the middleweight division.

Tito Ortiz’s UFC return has been called a “possibility” by White, and UFC 103 could be the opportunity for “The Huntington Beach Badboy” to make his UFC return. Though Ortiz hasn’t won in three bouts since his last victory in October 2006, he’d still offer a good test for Franklin, who is likely several wins away from a title shot at 205-pounds.

Though far from official, the changes could boost the event’s lineup by offering a bout between legitimate middleweight contenders in Henderson and Belfort as well as a fight pitting two of the most popular fighters in Ortiz and Franklin head-to-head.

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com for the latest UFC news and UFC rumors.

[Pictured: Dan Henderson]

Henderson defeated Franklin by split decision in their first meeting in January and the UFC surprisingly announced the rematch for September 19 in Dallas yesterday.

Franklin and Henderson have both competed at middleweight (185) and light heavyweight in recent years, though Franklin has settled in at 205-pounds while Henderson appears content to remain at 185, prompting questions as to what weight class this fight will take place at.

Franklin, who was a guest on Tuesday’s edition of MMAjunkie radio where he also revealed the new contract, is expecting to fight Henderson at light heavyweight, just as they did for their first meeting.

“I’m assuming (it’s at) 205,” said Franklin. “The last one was at 205. I’d guess that – I haven’t spoken to anyone about it, so anything I say is only speculation. Even if he lost to me at 205, it shouldn’t affect his standing at 185 pounds. So I’d assume the UFC would do this fight at 205.”

The UFC announced the bout on Monday and also confirmed the rumored UFC 103 co-headliner between veteran heavyweight Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic and up-and-comer Junior dos Santos.

Henderson, who knocked out Michael Bisping earlier this month at UFC 100, was expected to get the next title shot against middleweight king Anderson Silva, while Franklin was rumored to headline UFC 103, possibly against a returning Tito Ortiz or Luiz Cane.

Though the first meeting between the pair was far from boring, it was also nowhere near a “Fight of the Year” candidate, prompting immediate questions as to why the UFC would book the popular fighters to square off again so quickly, not to mention that it effectively guarantees a loss for one of the contenders, who are now competing in separate divisions.

Henderson (25-7) has won 3-straight bouts over Rousimar Palhares, Franklin, and Bisping after dropping back-to-back fights to Quinton Jackson and Silva upon his return to the UFC in 2007.

Since losing a rematch to current middleweight title-holder Anderson Silva in October 2007, Franklin (25-4) has won 3 of his last 4 bouts, losing only to Henderson while picking up victories over Travis Lutter, Matt Hamill, and, most-recently in June, Wanderlei Silva. The announcement of the rematch likely means that Franklin has finalized his contract extension with the promotion.

[Pictured: Dan Henderson]

Franklin met one-on-one with UFC President Dana White in Las Vegas last week to negotiate an extension  and it appears a new contract will be in place soon to keep Franklin in the UFC for the indefinite future and possibly for the remainder of his career.

Once the new contract is finalized, Franklin is expected to headline UFC 103 on September 19 in Dallas, possibly against a returning Tito Ortiz or against fellow 205-pound contender Luiz Cane, who recently expressed his interest in fighting “Ace”.

Since losing a rematch to current middleweight title-holder Anderson Silva in October 2007, Franklin (25-4) has won 3 of his last 4 bouts, losing only to Dan Henderson while picking up victories over Travis Lutter, Matt Hamill, and, most-recently in June, Wanderlei Silva.

For more Rich Franklin news check out MMAFrenzy.com’s Rich Franklin archive.

“I’m very thankful for Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta from the UFC and I’m glad that me and Dana (White) kind of got to brush each other off. We may not still like each other or whatever but we came to amends – which is awesome’” said Ortiz. “I gotta thank Strikeforce for giving me an opportunity and I want to thank Affliction for giving me an opportunity.”

Despite being “close” to contracts with Strikeforce, Affliction, and the now-defunct EliteXC, a return to the UFC was always considered a possibility, with some considering it the most likely option for the veteran 205-pounder. Ortiz last fought in May 2008, suffering a unanimous decision loss to Lyoto Machida to fulfil his existing contract with the UFC. He then underwent surgery last October on his back and has been sidelined since to recover and negoitate his next fight.

If Ortiz is indeed returning to the UFC, the obvious questions that need answered are when will he return to the Octagon and who will he fight. With Ortiz’s possible re-signing not yet official, neither is his return fight, but MMA Mania’s Jesse Holland speculates that Ortiz could headline UFC 103 on September 19 in Dallas against Rich Franklin.

Ortiz (15-6-1) was not won in three-straight fights, suffering losses to Chuck Liddell and Machida while earning a draw against Rashad Evans.

Franklin (25-4), who has won 3 of his last 4 fights including a recent victory over Wanderlei Silva, is reportedly in Las Vegas meeting one-on-one with UFC President Dana White to negotiate a new contract. “Ace” has one fight remaining on his current UFC deal, but has stated in recent weeks that he’d likely sign a new contract before his next fight, which had been rumored to be the UFC 103 main event.

[HT: MMA Mania]