Vitor Belfort wins main event at UFC 103 at American Airlines Center in Dallas

by Sean Malone of North Texas Fisticuffs

DALLAS — In the main event of the evening, Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort (18-8-0) made his triumphant return to the UFC with a first round knock out of Rich “Ace” Franklin (27-4-0, 1 NC).

Franklin cautiously stalked Belfort around the cage. Suddenly, a straight left rocked Franklin, who crumpled to the canvas. Belfort jumped on his injured foe, and after raining down some punches, the referee waved a halt to the bout.

The official time of the knockout was 3:02 in round one.

Brazilian heavyweight contender Junior Dos Santos (8-1-0) looked impressive in stopping former Dream Open Weight Grand Prix champion Mirko Cro Cop (25-6-2, 1 NC).

Dos Santos came out strong and quickly established himself as the harder striker. Dos Santos’ aggression and speed were too much for Cro Cop, who seemed tentative throughout the fight and ate a number of hard shots from his Brazilian opponent.

Cro Cop had little success in the fight, but did manage to swell up both of Dos Santos eyes. Dos Santos would be undeterred, and after landing a hard uppercut in the third round, Cro Cop inexplicably waved off the fight.

Dos Santos was awarded with a verbal submission victory at the 2:00 mark in round three.

Paul Daley (21-8-2) made the most of his short notice opportunity in stopping surging Martin Kampmann (15-2-0) with a first round TKO.

The action was intense from the opening bell as both fighters came out firing. Both fighters seemed happy to swap leather with each other as the crowd roared in appreciation. A Daley left hook backed Kampmann, and after eating a number of hard shots, the referee jumped in to wave a halt to the fight. Many in attendance booed the stoppage, believing that Kampmann was still on his feet and should have been given a chance to come back.

The official time of the stoppage was 2:31 in round one.

“It was a very just decision,” Daley said of the stoppage. "The ref saw his eyes roll back a couple of times. He’s worried about his health. It was a good stoppage.”

Josh Koscheck (14-4-0) needed little time in dispatching of game veteran Frank Trigg (19-6-0), stopping him in one round.

Koscheck finished things fast, landing a huge right hand early in the round that dropped Trigg. Koscheck ended things from there, landing a number of hard uppercuts to the face of Trigg, prompting the referee to stop the fight.

The official time of the stoppage was 1:25 in round one.

“Getting back to the winning ways is awesome,” said Koscheck. “This is what I’ve been training for, and I’m super motivated right now.”

Tyson Griffin (13-2-0) made sure his name gets mentions in lightweight division title contention with his impressive second round TKO over Hermes Franca (20-7-0).

After a slow first round, Griffin and Franca exploded in the second, firing hard shots at each other. A big right hand from Griffin put Franca on the canvas hard. Seizing the opportunity, Griffin jumped on his injured foe and after a barrage of punches the referee stopped the fight.

The official time of the stoppage was 3:26 in round two.

“He was the first guy I was ever nervous to get on the ground with,” Griffin explained. “I was patient. When I dropped him, I went to work and didn’t stop until the referee pulled me off.”

Efrain Escudero (12-0-0) energized the crowd with his emphatic first round TKO victory over Cole Miller (15-3-0).

Miller tried to use his reach advantage early circling to the outside and hoping to stifle and takedown attempts by Escudero and his strong wrestling skills. A leg kick by Miller was blocked by Escudero, who then proceeded to lift Miller up and slam him hard to the mat. Miller managed to make it to his feet but a hard right hand from Escudero puts him down again. Smelling blood, Escudero pounced and rained down a barrage of hard shots that prompted the referee to wave a halt to the fight.

The official time of the stoppage was 3:36 in round one.

“My respect goes out to Cole Miller,” Escudero said after the fight. “The game plan coming in was to stay off the ground and work my strikes. I saw him stumbling and I went after him. It’s my first knock out.”

Poland’s Tomasz Drwal (16-2-0) looked impressive in his middleweight debut, submitting a game Drew McFredries (8-5-0) with a rear naked choke in the send round.

The action was brisk and begun at the opening bell as both fighters threw leather in bunches. McFredries landed some hard uppercuts that promoted Drwal to take a more defensive approach. Drwal took the fight to the ground but was unable to sink in the hooks and McFredries escaped the round.

The action picked up where it left off in the second round as both fighters traded shots. The tide quickly changed when Drwal landed a hard 1-2 punch combination that buckled McFredries. Drwal pounced on his hurt opponent and took McFredries down to the mat, where he was able to sink in the rear naked choke.

The official time of the submission was 1:03 in round two.

Jim Miller (14-2-0) was awarded a second round technical knockout when his opponent Steve Lopez (12-1-0) injured his shoulder and was unable to continue in the fight.

The action was intense from the beginning as both Miller and Lopez loaded up on each shot, hoping to land their respective haymakers. Miller took control early when a barrage of hard shots put Lopez down on the mat. Miller wan unable to land a guillotine choke and continued to dish out punishment on Lopez.

Things ended early in the second round when a missed combo by Lopez apparently injured his shoulder, and the grimace on Lopez’s face spoke volumes. Lopez quickly waved off the bout, prompting the referee to call a halt to the fight.

The official time of the stoppage was 1:48 in the second round.

Nick Lentz (18-3-1) and Rafaello Oliveria (9-1-0) battled intensely over three close rounds. In the end, Lentz' tenacity was the key in earning the unanimous decision victory over his Brazilian opponent.

Scores were 29-28, 29-28, and 30-27 in favor of Lentz.

Rick “Horror” Story (7-3-0) looked impressive in submitting hard-nosed Brian Foster (14-3-0) in two rounds with an arm triangle.

Both fighters came out firing hard shots as they elected to trade leather. The crowd roared in appreciation to these two game fighters. By the end of the first round, Story looked tired and blood dripped from his nose.

The action continued into the second round, with neither fighter giving an inch. After a successful takedown attempt Story was able to slip on the arm triangle while in half guard, an impressive feat, and Foster had not other option but to tap.

The official time of the submission was 1:09 in the second round.

Elliot Marshall (7-2-0) scored a lackluster three round split decision over Jason Britz (17-1-1). Scores were 30-27, 30-27 for Marshall and 30-27 for Britz.

Vladimir “The Janitor” Matyushenko (22-4-0) gutted out a three round unanimous decision over Igor Pokrajac (21-5-0).

After a cautious opening round, the action began to heat up, with both fighters trading hard shots. Matyushenko seemed more comfortable on the ground and had a number of successful takedowns but could not finish the fight in that manner.

Scores were 30-27, 30-27, and 30-27 on all cards in favor of Matyushenko.

In the opening fight of the night, Rafael dos Anjos (11-4-0) scored a three round unanimous decision over Robert Emerson (10-7-0, 1 NC).

Scores were 30-27, 30-27, and 30-27 in favor of dos Anjos.