Belfort knocks out Franklin at UFC 103

THE CANADIAN PRESS

DALLAS — Vitor Belfort returned to the UFC in style Saturday night, knocking out former middleweight champion Rich Franklin three minutes two seconds into the main event of UFC 103.

After a cautious opening, Belfort clipped Franklin’s head with a punch and then put him down with a right, sealing the win with several more heavy blows. Franklin was on his knees and getting hurt when Canadian referee Yves Lavigne stepped in.

"Once you get clipped, everything goes blank," Franklin said.

Belfort (19-8), who won the light-heavyweight title back at UFC 46 in January 2004, had been out of the UFC since February 2005 when he lost a split decision to Tito Ortiz at UFC 51. But the 32-year-old Brazilian came to Texas riding a four-fight win streak in other organizations.

The Brazilian, who picked up US$65,000 for knockout of the night, says he is savouring another chance in the UFC.

"I made bad moves," he said, referring to his past career. "The Bible said the glory of the second house is bigger than the first."

The fight before 17,428 at the American Airlines Center was contested at a catchweight of 195 pounds. The 34-year-old Franklin (27-5 with one no contest) now campaigns at 205 pounds as a light-heavyweight while Belfort plans to compete at 185 pounds in the middleweight ranks where he now moves into the title mix.

Belfort did not get a chance to show too much, but did give a taste of the kind of predatory finish that made him a star in his first UFC go-round.

The mixed martial arts show was only the UFC’s second in Texas, following UFC 69 in Houston where Canadian Georges St. Pierre lost his welterweight title (he won it back from Matt Serra at UFC 83 in Montreal).

The UFC card went head to head for pay-per-view buyers with the Floyd Mayweather-Juan Manuel Marquez boxing showdown in Las Vegas. And UFC boss Dana White did his bit to entice channel-surfers, offering two of the undercard fights live on Spike TV.

In the co-main event, Brazilian heavyweight Junior Dos Santos stopped Mirko (Cro Cop) Filipovic when the former Pride star quit two minutes into the third round with an eye injury. Dos Santos had been the aggressor throughout.

Filipovic had been getting the worst of it and stopped after taking a knee to the head and then a punch to the eye. White said later Filipovic was all right but had been sent to hospital to be checked out.

Dos Santos, 25, walked out to the theme from "Rocky." Then the 35-year-old Filipovic entered to his signature "Wild Boys" by Duran, Duran.

Dos Santos (9-1) blocked a head kick and started chasing the Croatian, who nevertheless managed to bloody the Brazilian’s face. Filipovic (24-7-2 with one no contest) was backing up but made the aggressive Dos Santos pay in a high-tempo first round.

Dos Santos kept chasing while Filipovic looked to counter in the second round. And the big Brazilian began to find his aim, only to take a low kick to the groin. After a break to recover, Dos Santos cut the Croatian with a head shot.

The Brazilian did more damage in the third, using knees to hurt his opponent.

Dos Santos has now won three straight in the UFC while Filipovic is 2-3.

The main card served up a string of knockouts.

Welterweight Josh Koscheck spoiled Frank Trigg’s comeback to the UFC, knocking him out in 85 seconds.

Koscheck clipped Trigg at the fence then put him down with a right, hammering away until referee Leon Roberts stepped in. The 37-year-old Trigg last fought in the Octagon in August 2005 losing to St. Pierre, but had gone 7-2 outside the organization since then.

Trigg (19-7) looked comfortable in the cage but walked into a Koscheck punch and couldn’t recover.

After the win, Koscheck (15-4) said former champion Matt Hughes was in his sights.

English welterweight Paul (Semtex) Daley also had a short night, celebrating his UFC debut with an upset KO win over Martin (The Hitman) Kampmann at 2:31 of the first round.

Daley (22-8-2) staggered Kampmann (15-3) with a left and then hurt him with another, swinging at least a dozen times at the dazed Dane at the fence until Lavigne waved a halt.

Daley had been slated to fight on the undercard but was bumped up the main event in place of Mike (Quick) Swick, who was injured in training. The loss derails Kampmann’s immediate title hopes — the Kampmann-Swick winner had been expect to challenge GSP.

Earlier, lightweight Tyson Griffin looked impressive in stopping veteran Hermes Franca at 3:26 of the second round. Griffin threw a low leg kick and then put Franca down with a straight right, punching away until the fight was stopped.

Griffin (14-2) was far more technical and polished than Franca (20-8), handing the 35-year-old only his second knockout loss.

Lightweight Efrain Escudero took care of business quickly, knocking out Cole Miller at 3:36 of the first round. Escudero (13-0) staggered Miller with a right and then floored him with another, hitting Miller with two more on the ground before Lavigne stepped in to save the crumpled fighter from more punishment.

Escudero, who was giving up four inches to the 6-1 Miller, had not fought since winning season 8 of "The Ultimate Fighter" in December. An earlier bout was called off due to a rib injury. He looked good in his comeback, dispatching a capable opponent in Miller despite having missing make weight the first time Friday.

Poland’s Tomasz (Gorilla) Drwal, moving down from light-heavyweight, choked out middleweight Drew (The Massacre) McFedries at 1:03 of the second round. A sluggish McFedries (8-6) was unable to get his striking going and his ground game was proved lacking once again as Drwal (17-2) worked him over.

.Lightweight Jim Miller won by TKO 28 seconds into the second round when UFC newcomer Steve Lopez suffered a dislocated shoulder. Miller (15-2) had dominated the first round, staggering Lopez (12-2) several times.

Lightweight Rick (The Horror) Story submitted UFC newcomer Brian Foster (14-4) via arm triangle at 1:09 of the second round in an all-action bout. Story (8-3) appeared to have his nose broken in the first round, which started with a wild flurry.

It was a profitable evening for Story, who picked an extra $130,000 in bonuses for submission and fight of the night. Foster also got $65,000 for fight of the night.

Light-heavyweight Eliot (The Fire) Marshall (8-2) stayed on the outside en route to a split decision over Omaha firefighter Jason (Hitman) Brilz (17-2-1). The five-foot-11 Brilz was giving up four inches in height and six inches in reach to Marshall and couldn’t bring his wrestling skills to bear.

Nik (The Carny) Lentz won a unanimous decision over Brazilian lightweight Rafaello Oliveira in a battle of UFC newcomers. Lentz (19-3-1) was busier than Oliveira (9-2), who started strong and ran out of steam.

Former IFL light-heavyweight champion Vladimir (The Janitor) Matyushenko (23-4), a winner of nine of 10 since his last trip to the Octagon at UFC 44, earned a unanimous decision over UFC newcomer Igor Pokrajac (21-6).

Brazilian lightweight Rafael Dos Anjos (12-4) used some vicious leg kicks to win his first UFC fight in three tries with a unanimous decision over a game Rob (The Saint) Emerson (10-8 with one no contest).

The show delivered a gate of $2.4 million.