By MATT BOONE
MMANEWS.COM Staff Writer
Welcome to our live round-by-round coverage of the UFC 115 “Liddell vs. Franklin” event from Vancouver, B.C., Canada.
Make sure to check out the action as it happens live here at MMANews.com on this page throughout the evening.
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PRELIMS
Fight #1:
-Mike Pyle vs. Jesse Lennox
Round 1: Both guys come out exchanging leg kicks and body kicks early. Not a lot of action as the round advances and the crowd is letting them have it. Lennox lands a decent knee to the body. He attempts to follow-up with a takedown, but no dice. Lennox lands some good shots but slips. Pyle takes advantage and is pounding away. Pyle sinks in a guillotine choke but Lennox eventually escapes. The rounds ends. Likely 10-9 for Pyle.
Round 2: Both guys in a wrestling scramble early. Pyle is looking to secure a kimura but Lennox ultimately defends without harm. Pyle is on top on the ground now working some ground-and-pound. Lennox works his way back to his feet. Lennox scores a takedown and now finds himself in top position on the ground. Lennox maintains control of position on the ground as the round comes to an end. Probably 10-9 Pyle here as well.
Round 3: Lennox is swinging big in the final round, fighting like he needs a stoppage to take the match. Lennox lands some good leg kicks. Pyle stuns Lennox briefly with strikes. Pyle again lands more leg kicks that stuns Lennox. Lennox is looking tired. Lennox lands a superman punch and follows up with a left hook. He gets Pyle on the ground and is working ground-and-pound. Pyle locks on a triangle choke from the bottom, lands some elbows and finishes the submission for the tapout victory with seconds left to go.
Mike Pyle def. Jesse Lennox via Submission (triangle choke) at 4:44 of Round 3.
Fight #2:
-Ricardo Funch vs. Claude Patrick
Round 1: Funch throwing a lot of leg kicks early. Both guys clinch against the cage and Patrick is working knees to Funch's thighs. Patrick takes Funch down off the fence and ends up in Funch's full guard on the ground. Patrick landing some good shots from top position. Patrick continues to pound away on Funch, eventually passing to half guard. Patrick lands more punches and elbows from half guard. Patrick locks in a choke but can't finish it as the buzzer sounds to end the first round.
Round 2: Patrick bullies Funch against the fence and locks in a guillotine choke. Patrick continues to hold the choke and throws some knees to Funch's face. Patrick gets the choke fully locked in now and they drop to the ground. Funch taps out.
Claude Patrick def. Ricardo Funch via Submission (guillotine choke) at 1:48 of Round 2.
Fight #3:
-James Wilks vs. Peter Sobotta
Round 1: Sobotta closes in on Wilks and pushes him against the cage early. Wilks with a knee to the body. Wilks looking for a submission against the cage. He drops to his back and is looking to lock up Sobotta's arm. Sobotta eventually gets his arm free and both guys scramble back to their feet. Sobotta looking for a takedown but Wilks defends. Wilks pulls guard and is looking for a gogo plata. Sobotta escapes and they scramble to end the round.
Round 2: Wilks misses a wild head kick early in the second frame. Sobotta lands some good punches. Both guys clinch and Wilks lands some knees to Sobotta's head. Wilks lands a good combination with the hands. Wilks with a trip takedown, landing in Sobotta's guard. Wilks stands up in Sobotta's guard and looks to secure a choke. Both guys scramble to their feet with a few seconds left. The round ends.
Round 3: Wilks with a good punch-knee combo on Sobotta to open the third and final round. Wilks with a wild kick and a takedown attempt. Sobotta defends the takedown and they seperate. Sobotta attempting a takedown of his own now but Wilks is working on locking up a submission hold. Sobotta manages to get Wilks down and has his back. He locks in body triangle control and is looking for a rear naked choke. Sobotta gives up the body triangle to go after Wilks' arm. Wilks uses this to escape and reverse. Wilks is on top now in Sobotta's full guard working some ground-and-pound. The round ends there.
James Wilks def. Peter Sobotta via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-28, 30-27) after 3 Rounds.
Fight #4:
-David Loiseau vs. Mario Miranda
Round 1: Miranda starts the round off quickly clinching with Loiseau and taking him to the ground. Miranda controls Loiseau on the ground and mixes in some strikes. Loiseau tries to scramble up but Miranda controls him and lands some knees to the body. Miranda and Loiseau clinch on the feet and Miranda takes him back to the mat. Loiseau is fast to return to his feet this time. Both guys clinch against the cage. The action slows down too much for the ref's taste and we have a restart. Both guys clinch again and the round ends there.
Round 2: Loiseau opens with some vicious high kick attempts. He doesn't land any of the kicks, but manages to sneak in a good overhand right. Miranda clinches and takes Loiseau down. He's landing good punches and even cuts Loiseau on his head. Miranda mixing in some elbows now, really working some effective ground-and-pound. Miranda takes Loiseau's back and is working for the rear naked choke. Miranda lets it go and hammers away with some elbows and punches. Loiseau covers up and takes a beating. The ref sees enough and stops the contest.
Mario Miranda def. David Loiseau via TKO (strikes) at 4:07 of Round 2.
SPIKE TV PRELIMS
Fight #5:
-Mac Danzig vs. Matt Wiman
Round 1: We have a controversy. Danzig takes Wiman down early. Wiman eventually gains top position and slaps on a guillotine on Danzig, who is on the bottom. He holds it for a while but Danzig hangs in there. Wiman readjusts and goes for the finish again. This is where the controversy comes in. Wiman tells the ref that Danzig is unconscious and the ref stops it on that advice, but as soon as he does, it's very apparent that Danzig was not out at all. The fight is over however, and it definitely shouldn't be.
Matt Wiman def. Mac Danzig via Submission (guillotine choke) at 1:45 of Round 1.
Fight #6:
-Tyson Griffin vs. Evan Dunham
Round 1: Good round. Typical Tyson Griffin-fight round. Early on both men were exchanging a lot of punches, with Griffin being the aggressor. At one point, Dunham had Griffin's leg above his head and Griffin was still blasting combos with both hands. They hit the ground late in the round and Dunham had both hooks in looking for a rear naked choke. He never got it and the round ended.
Round 2: Another decent round. Most of the round was spent with Dunham on Griffin's back. At one point, Griffin stood up with Dunham still on his back. Griffin eventually slammed himself forward, smashing Dunham on his head. Dunham stuck to him like glue though, and finished the round still trying to secure the choke.
Round 3: Both guys come out swinging wildly to start the third. Each guy lands some good shots. In a scramble, Dunham grabs onto back control of Griffin. This is where the fight would remain until the final bell. Dunham worked for the rear naked choke for about three minutes, but never got it. Griffin at one point stood up again and tried spiking Dunham on his head again. This time, Dunham was prepared. Dunham should be winning a decision here.
Evan Dunham def. Tyson Griffin via Split Decision (30-27 Dunham, 29-28 Griffin, 29-28 Dunham) after 3 Rounds.
UFC 115 PPV FIGHTS
Fight #7:
-Carlos Condit vs. Rory MacDonald
Round 1: Good round. Rory MacDonald looked impressive throughout. He got a takedown on Condit early and landed some good shots on the ground. They scrambled up and had some good exchanges on the feet. MacDonald finished the round taking Condit down again.
Round 2: Decent round. MacDonald got a takedown early but they scramble up quick. Condit ends up on top after a scramble. He works some before they end up on the feet again. Both guys exchange a lot of flurries on the feet, with Condit throwing a lot of kicks. At the end of the round both guys went for a push kick and MacDonald knocked Condit down and hurt him.
Round 3: More controversy. Both guys land good shots early. The fight ends up on the ground where Condit remains on top for several minutes landing crushing elbows and punches. MacDonald's eye was swollen real bad, to the point where Joe Rogan speculated that he had a broken orbital bone. The controversy comes with 7 seconds left, the ref stops the fight during a Condit ground-and-pound flurry. MacDonald had likely won the previous two rounds, which means he would have likely won the decision had the round ended. The ref stopped it with SEVEN SECONDS LEFT!!
Carlos Condit def. Rory MacDonald via TKO (ref stoppage) at 4:53 of Round 3.
Fight #8:
-Gilbert Yvel vs. Ben Rothwell
Round 1: Good round. Rothwell came out swinging like a mad-man early. Yvel goes for a guillotine choke and drops down to try and finish. Rothwell escaped and dominated Yvel on the ground for the rest of the round. At the end of the round, Yvel managed to get back to his feet. He hurt Rothwell with some big punches and kicks.
Round 2: Great round. Rothwell got Yvel down early and things looked hopeless for Yvel. Yvel then used a kimura out of nowhere to reverse position. Yvel then hammered away at Rothwell to the point where the ref could have stopped it. Then when things started to seem hopeless for Rothwell, he got top position back on the ground. The round ended with Rothwell working some ground-and-pound.
Round 3: Not a good round. The entire round was Rothwell on top, mostly in side mount, landing various elbows and punches on Yvel. Yvel could not escape for his life.
Ben Rothwell def. Gilbert Yvel via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after 3 Rounds.
Fight #9:
-Paulo Thiago vs. Martin Kampmann
Round 1: Good round. Kampmann was landing great shots early, stunning Thiago twice with big punches. Kampmann got Thiago on the ground and near the end of the round had a deep guillotine choke sunk in that looked to be a fight-ending hold. The buzzer sounded instead, ending the round.
Round 2: Both guys tenative on the feet early in the second. Kampmann connects with a solid shot. Both guys scramble and end up on the ground. Kampmann has top position and is working ground-and-pound. Thiago is working for a kimura but can't lock it up. He uses it to sweep Kampmann however, and is on top now. Kampmann quickly scrambles out and the round ends.
Round 3: Not a terribly exciting round. All Kampmann, though. Kampmann spent the entire round on top of Thiago on the ground. Twice he tried for an arm triangle to finish the fight, but couldn't pull the trigger. His arm triangle attempt to close the round was starting to look good, just as the buzzer sounded to end the fight.
Martin Kampmann def. Paulo Thiago via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after 3 Rounds.
Fight #10:
-Mirko CroCop vs. Pat Barry
Round 1: Amazing round. Barry dropped CroCop with a punch early, but stood there and let CroCop get back up. Both guys were throwing a lot of kicks. Barry knocked CroCop down again with a punch and again let him back up. This time CroCop got hurt as his eye is swollen shut and his entire cheek is badly swollen. Joe Rogan thinks he may have a broken jaw. It looks horrible. They smiled at one point, stopped engaging and hugged each other in the center of the cage. Great round.
Round 2: Another good round. CroCop came out fighting much smarter this time. He was landing great punches, controlling the action on the feet. Barry seemed like a different person in this round, in a bad way. CroCop got Barry on the ground and eventually passed to full mount. At one point, CroCop had Barry's back and was working for a rear naked choke. Has CroCop ever had anyone's back in his MMA history? Next round should decide the fight.
Round 3: Awesome round! CroCop was lighting Barry up on the feet, landing great punches. Towards the end of the round, CroCop was totally dominating. He landed several huge punch combos. He dropped Barry with punches and then swung away like crazy hoping for the ref to stop it. He wouldn't, so CroCop slapped a rear naked choke on and got the quick tapout from Barry. The crowd exploded. What a fun fight.
Mirko CroCop def. Pat Barry via Submission (rear naked choke) at 4:30 of Round 3.
Fight #11:
-Chuck Liddell vs. Rich Franklin
Round 1: Insane. Both guys were exchanging wild punches early, both with bad intentions behind them. Liddell was working more kicks than usual, landing some good leg kicks. He missed a big high kick attempt but landed a good body kick. Franklin lands some good punches. Liddell hurts Franklin bad with a punch at one point, and looked to follow in to stop him. Franklin regained his composure, however, and things are back to normal. Both guys exchanging again, Liddell lands a good shot that stuns Franklin. He follows in and Franklin blasts Liddell out of nowhere, with literally one or two seconds remaining, and knocks Liddell clean-out. Rich Franklin wins by an exciting knockout.
Rich Franklin def. Chuck Liddell via KO (punch) at 4:55 of Round 1.