UFC 115 recap

Rich Franklin def Chuck Liddell via KO (punch) Rd 1
Up until the end of the fight I was pretty impressed with Chuck's game. He looked faster and more powerful than Rich, and he absorbed some blows that I thought would test his chin and just walked through them. I picked Rich to win a decision but I was beginning to think it would go in Chuck's favor, then BOOM. One punch KO from Rich. Regardless of how good Chuck looked before that, it doesn't matter. He's done, and hopefully he realizes that. He thought he had Rich in big trouble against the cage, got reckless like he always does, and paid the price. And I could totally see that Rich was playing possum a bit and wasn't as hurt as he led on. Good tactic. It's also impressive that Rich broke his arm earlier in the match and continued to fight like nothing happened. However, Rich did look a bit slow and tentative in this fight, even for himself. I'm hearing talk about Rich being ready for LHW elites, and I personally think he'd get steamrolled by Bones, picked apart and beaten again by Lyoto, and all it would take is one clean shot for RAmpage to put him away (although I think this is the most intriguing of the 3 matches).

Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic def Pat Barry via Submission (rear-naked choke) Rd 3
It's no secret that I'm a huge Cro Cop fan, and even I thought he was doomed in this match and is damn-near irrelevant. Pretty ecstatic he proved me and everyone else wrong. I've encountered some opinions that Cro Cop didn't look good in this fight, but I think that's far from the truth. They say he looked as bad as he has in past fights during the first round, where he was dropped twice. He did absorb some shots but hardly seemed to be affected, and he was a lot less reluctant to pull the trigger and actually attack Barry. I consider that a big difference. In the 2nd round he turned it up, landed some nice shots, and took things to the ground where he controlled and peppered Barry. The 3rd was all Cro Cop, and I was very impressed with his hands. There was the issue of Barry being tired, as well as reportedly suffering a broken and foot during the fight, but I don't think that takes anything away from Cro Cop's dominating performance. I thought he might actually finish Barry during the late flurry, but the RNC was a sweet finish. Not sure who I'd like to see Cro Cop fight next; maybe they should actually get that match with Rothwell going. It could definitely be exciting since Ben has a lesser chance of laying on him. As for Barry, he really needs to work on his ground game and killer instinct but I think another kickboxer should be given to him while he learns. Maybe Yvel can get another shot. Oh, and that mid-fight embrace between Cro Cop and Barry was one of the most awesome things I've seen in a while.

Martin Kampmann def Paulo Thiago via Unanimous Decision Rd 3
Kampmann impressed the hell out of me. I predicted Thiago grinding out a hard-fought decision with top control, and the exact opposite happened and Kampmann absolutely dominated. This was an important fight in the welterweight division to prove who could be next in the title picture, and Kampmann showed that he could be a viable threat. We all knew he had the technical and speed advantage on the feet, and he punctuated that by simply outclassing Thiago and his wild haymaker style in the stand up. However, it was very unexpected that he'd also outclass him on the ground, and threatened with several chokes that would've put Thiago away if his defensive BJJ wasn't more solid than the majority of welters out there. Another 30 seconds and I think Kampmann would've put Thiago to sleep with the arm triangle he had locked in at the final bell. Next for Kampmann, the winner of Fitch vs. Alves. Next for Thiago, how about Carlos Condit?

Ben Rothwell def Gilbert Yvel via Unanimous Decision Rd 3
Boring-ass lackluster fight. I like both Rothwell and Yvel, but I found myself rooting much more for Yvel during the course of the fight. Why? Wrestling, thats why. I respect and often enjoy the application of wrestling in MMA, but at the risk of sounding like a typical absent minded Sherdogger, this wrestling shit is gettin' outta hand. Both Rothwell and Yvel like to stand and bang, so you figure we'll get an explosive stand up war that won't last long, right? WRONG. Instead we get a sloppy as hell ground match. I was more impressed with Yvel's two sweeps from the bottom than anything Rothwell did during the fight, and Yvel easily did the most damage during the fight with his 2nd round barrage. But this is a 10-point must system right? So Rothwell still won the fight 29-28 on my card. If Yvel wouldn't have gassed it would've been a very different fight, but that's a lot to ask when you have a 265+lb dude laying on you. As frustrating as it was to watch this fight, I can't imagine how frustrating it must've been for Yvel, who was the only one to land any real significant shots. Next for Rothwell, Cro Cop. Next for Yvel, Barry or a pink slip.

Carlos Condit def Rory MacDonald via TKO (punches) Rd 3
First of all, great fight. Second of all, Condit needs some damn defense. It's been very apparent in all 3 of his UFC fights that he has very poor stand up defense and just tends to wade in and hope for the best. Even worse, he doesn't learn from his mistakes once opponents time him. In the first 2 rounds MacDonald looked very impressive and definitely won the rounds, though when read it (I read the results before watching. wish I hadn't) they made it sound like Condit was getting destroyed, and he wasn't. Condit really turned it on in the 3rd and really beat the crap out of MacDonald. I thought the stoppage was a bit iffy, but MacDonald was on dream street. When you're done, you're done, and Condit did enough damage to warrant a finish. Next for Condit: now that I think about it, a rematch with Martin Kampmann might be in line. Or Paulo Thiago. Next for MacDonald: he's proven that he's no joke, but I still think they need to build him carefully and get him a few more wins. Jacob Volkmann or Ronys Torres might be nice tests, while still keeping victory well within range.

Onto the Prelims - results and notes

Evan Dunham vs Tyson Griffin bored me, but I was impressed with the fact that Dunham took down and controlled Griffin in a way no one else really could. Should have been a unanimous decision victory, but either way it showed that Dunham should be thrown into title mix sooner rather than later.

Matt Wiman vs Mac Danzig showed was complete bullshit. Yves Levigne did a terrible job calling that finish, and although Danzig has had really tough luck in the octagon I don't think he should get the boot for this fight. An immediate rematch should be scheduled, and that should decide who stays since both of them really needed a win. For the record, I think Danzig probably would've been submitted, but how about we let it actually happen before calling the match, eh Yves?

Claude Patrick looked great against Ricardo Funch. He showed a very well rounded game and had control of the fight the whole way through. I want to see him develop even further against slightly stiffer competition.

The remainder of the fights I didn't see, but its kind of a bummer to know David Loiseau was pounded on for entirely too long before the fight was stopped, and that this really signaled the end of his relevance. However, it did give Mario Miranda a good chance to show why he's considered a such a good prospect at 185. James Wilks apparently played his usual good ground/shitty standup game against Peter Sobotta, and managed to survive this time, taking the unanimous decision. Wilks is very solid on the ground, but if he wants to actually go anywhere in the welterweight division he needs to get some semblance of stand up. Mike Pyle beat Jesse Lennox by outworking him for 2 rds, taunting him in the 3rd, getting put on his ass for his troubles, but luring Lennox into a guillotine. Thats all for tonight folks.