UFC 103 Recap – Franklin gets owned by Belfort

Belfort Decisive In Comeback To UFC

There was worries that Franklin’s auspicious record over the past three-years would derail the Vitor Belfort train. No such luck for Franklin’s betting faithful. Belfort KO’d the former champion with a series of punches that put Franklin in a crumpled heap of crap on the matt in the first round to a massive ovation from the crowd.

Belfort was an underdog in the match, but will likely be starting as a favorite after his surgical disposal of Franklin left little doubts that he has polished the weakest parts of his games, and has retained the hand speed and tactical superiority that made him fan favorite across the globe. Now he waits to see what Dana White does with his momentum. He could be thrust up against Anderson Silva right away, or have to claw his way past Wanderlei Silva.

Cro Cop Needs to Retire After Loss to dos Santos

Cro Cop looked like he was in his first fist-fight ever. Even Tila Tequila put up a better defense against Shawn Merriman. The Croatian Kicking Machine looked like a scared 12-year old in the ring against the menacing onslaught of dos Santos, and quit the first chance he got. He claims he couldn’t see out of his right eye. Hopefully his “injury” heals up so he can find his way to the exit. That was painful to watch.

The good news for dos Santos, who is trained by “The Spider”, is that he legitimized his place in the heavyweight division. Now Dana White has an interesting place for him in a shallow heavyweight ranks. Depending on how the Carwin-Lesnar tilt plays out, White can put him against the loser of that match…or pit him against Gabriel Gonzaga. For my PPV money, however, I’d love to see dos Santos dismantle Congo. I’m so sick of Congo.

Paul Daley Untouchable in Debut, Win

Daley was a fill-in for Mike Swick against Martin Kampmann, and demolished Kampmann in what should have been a battle for number-one contender’s fight for the welterweight championship. Daley is rocketing up the standings with insane speed, matching only his striking pace. Swick will likely be his next opponent, and if the British Thai boxer notches another win in the UFC, he could very well get a fight against the reigning champion, Georges St. Pierre. Talk about a debut with a “bang”!

Frank Trigg is Really, Really Old

Ok, so I was an idiot for thinking that a 37-year old Frank Trigg could outlast Josh Koscheck. Trigg was noticeably slower in the ring, and Josh pummeled him to earn a first-round victory before Trigg could mount any significant offense. The win is really kind of empty for Koscheck since there’s nobody else to fight in his division. He’s been around the UFC for so damn long that we already know that he’s a mid-carder at best. Beating up an old man was hardly enough to thrust him in to the title picture.