FRANKLIN EARNS ACE

June 12, 2010

The Ultimate Fighting Championship made its Vancouver debut on a sunny June afternoon as fight fans flooded the streets around General Motors Place in their favourite fighters’ brands, excitement brewing for the highly anticipated event.

The main fight card promised to deliver an action packed night of MMA, peaking with a battle between the former light heavy-weight and former middleweight champions, Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell (MMA record: 21-7) and Rich “Ace” Franklin (27-5, 1 NC). Both are fan favourites and two of the most prolific fighters in the ever-expanding UFC.

No longer rocking a toned beer belly, Liddell at 40, is in the best shape of his life heading into the big fight. Franklin, 35, a former school teacher moved up in weight to face off against fighters in the tough light heavy-weight division including Liddell.

They promised an unforgettable fight and they delivered.

Both fighters came out swinging with purpose. Liddell landed a big high kick, aggressively charging Franklin after exchanging heavy punches, taking his opponent into the fence. Standing back up, Liddell was bleeding above his eye and in typical Iceman form absorbed another hard punch to the face, retaliating with some of his own.

As the seconds ticked away on the first round, Liddell staggered Franklin with a punch and rushed him against the cage, swinging a fist that grazed Franklin’s cheek. Ace countered and landed one right on the jaw.

Liddell dropped like a ton of bricks. With one second left in the opening round, Franklin tallied the first official knock out of the night. It was a big one.

The victory was made all the more impressive when Franklin revealed to Joe Rogan in the post-fight interview that his left arm was broken earlier in the round, a casualty to a vicious Liddell high kicks. Not that anyone would really question his toughness anyways, but with tonight's gritty performance Franklin is well on his way to regaining Octagon dominance.

Before the main liners entered the Octagon UFC 115 hosted a series of high energy, entertaining fights.

Most notable was the heavyweight bout between Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic and Pat "HD" Barry, which got off to a quick start. Both fighters traded powerful punches and kicks, Barry twice rocking Cro Cop, who was knocked backwards with one of the blows, his eye swelling immediately.

The middle frame began with a similar dance. The fight moved to the ground and Cro Cop worked his elbows. Late in the final round the Croatian fighter charged fists first, backing Barry up against the fence, feeding him punches before finally submitting the New Orleans native with a rear naked choke.

The fight card also featured some Canadian grown talent. The first up was Toronto's own Claude Patrick who lived up to his reputation as a submission specialist, forcing his Brazilian opponent Ricardo Funch to tap, much to the appreciation of the Vancouver crowd.

Unfortunately the other two Canadians in the lineup didn't enjoy victories on home soil. "Super" Mario Miranda dominated Montreal's David "The Crow" Loiseau, earning the win by technical knock out in the second round.

British Columbia native, Rory MacDonald fared better, taking the first two rounds 29-27 and 30-27, looking every bit the young fighter entering the welterweight bout with a perfect 10-0 record. The 20 year old brought the crowd to their feet, but his opponent, veteran Carlos "The Natural Born Killer" Condit did some damage in the final round, forcing the ref to call a stop to the fight with eight seconds left.

The match up between Mac Danzig and "Handsome" Matt Wiman ended in controversy at 1:25 of the first round after the ref called a stop due to submission by guillotine choke by Wiman. However, Danzig didn't tap nor was he unconscious. Disappointed the fighter took the ref's decision in stride.

Other highlights of the night included a great performance by Martin "The Hitman" Kampmann who won by unanimous decision. An impressive performance by opponents Tyson Griffin and Evan Dunham who earned the win by split decision.

When all was said and done UFC 115 Liddell vs. Franklin delivered exactly what it promised - a night chalked full of entertaining fights from a talented roster of UFC fighters. Vancouver fans in attendance hope it was the first of many.