UFC 103 recap

Saturday night was a great fight card. I opted to watch the UFC instead of the Mayweather Jr vs Marquez match. I really just wanted to see Mayweather come back & tear up Marquez but the UFC 103 was a solid card, top to bottom. For my picks, I got 9 of the 13 fights right. We got see 11 of those, which rarely ever happens.

Here's my rundown,


OFFICIAL RESULTS

•Vitor Belfort def. Rich Franklin via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 3:02

It seems that Franklin is always going to have trouble with southpaws that have power. Vitor looked really good but I'm not sure how much success he is going to have in the middleweight division considering he will be fighting Henderson, Marquardt, or Anderson Silva next. Stylistically, Hendo & Marquardt aren't great match ups for Vitor. He will probably fight Silva for the title next. I like Vitor, but I wouldn't bet fifty cents on him against Anderson.

•Junior Dos Santos def. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic via submission (verbal) - Round 3, 2:00

I'm really not sure why Mirko is still fighting. Cro Cop doesn't look confident anymore & he looks like he doesn't want to be there.

I'm really not sure where Dos Antos goes from here. Junior is a very one dimensional fighter, but he can get away with it in the heavyweight division. I don't think he'll do well against a good wrestler like, Velasquez, Carwin, or Lesnar, but he's very young & has a decent future in MMA, especially training with Black House.
•Paul Daley def. Martin Kampmann via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 2:31

Biggest upset of the night. Kampmann tried but did not commit to any take downs. Martin thought he could stand & bang with Daley & he cost himself a title shot. Daley is a great striker with lots of power & I'd like to see more of him in the octagon.
•Josh Koscheck def. Frank Trigg via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 1:25

The only surprise for me was how quick Trigg was put away. I thought the stoppage was a bit premature. Not that Trigg was going to come back, but I would've like to see a more definite ending. I'd like to see Kos put together a few wins in a row against top competition, & maybe get a rematch with GSP. I don't think he'll beat St. Pierre, but I don't see any welterweight beating him.
•Tyson Griffin def. Hermes Franca via knockout (punches) - Round 2, 3:26

Franca looked to be in terrible shape & you don't want to fight Tyson Griffin unprepared.
•Efrain Escudero def. Cole Miller via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 3:36

This match did not go the way I thought it would. I thought Efrain would 'lay & prey' on Miller with Cole looking for subs from his back. Instead it was a good stand up battle & Efrain showed very improved striking skills. I look forward to seeing Escudero's next match up. This kid is good & could do big things.
•Tomasz Drwal def. Drew McFedries via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 2, 1:03 - No surprises here & really, no relevence.

•Jim Miller def. Steve Lopez via TKO (injury) - Round 2, 0:48 - While Jim was winning the fight & getting the better of the exchanges, you have to feel bad for Lopez, who popped his shoulder out of the socket throwing a punch.

•Nick Lentz def. Rafaello Oliveira via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
•Rick Story def. Brian Foster via submission (arm-triangle choke) - Round 2, 1:09 - While I like Foster & I think he has a lot of potential, he still showed some rookie mistakes that Story capitalised on. It was a good fight.

•Eliot Marshall def. Jason Brilz via split decision (30-28, 27-30, 30-27) - I didn't see this fight but I've heard that Marshall showed a very improved 'sprawl & brawl' technique that stopped the one dimensional wrestler, Brilz, from getting anything done. The split decision score was a mistake announced by Bruce Buffer, & should've been a unanimous decision for Marshall.

•Vladimir Matyushenko def. Igor Pokrajac via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

•Rafael Dos Anjos def. Rob Emerson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

My Picks, 9 - 4 :

X - Vitor Belfort def. Rich Franklin
•Junior Dos Santos def. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic
X - Paul Daley def. Martin Kampmann
•Josh Koscheck def. Frank Trigg
•Tyson Griffin def. Hermes Franca
•Efrain Escudero def. Cole Miller
•Tomasz Drwal def. Drew McFedries
•Jim Miller def. Steve Lopez
X - Nick Lentz def. Rafaello Oliveira
X - Rick Story def. Brian Foster
•Eliot Marshall def. Jason Brilz
•Vladimir Matyushenko def. Igor Pokrajac vi
•Rafael Dos Anjos def. Rob Emerson

Next up is October 24th, UFC 104 : Machida vs Shogun !!!! can't wait.