UFC 103 took place in Dallas, TX and in lieu of any title matchups, the event was highlighted by the return of a few old-school UFC fighters: Vitor Belfort, Frank Trigg, and Vladimir Matyushenko all made an appearance in the Octagon after years spent fighting in other organizations. For the first time in the promotion’s history, four of the preliminary bouts were televised on Spike TV prior to the pay-per-view event. Here’s how it all went down:
Preliminary card (Spike TV)
Drew McFedries vs. Tomasz Drwal (185 lbs)
Round 1: The broadcast feed is screwed up for the first minute of the fight, and both men are trading on the feet when the feed resumes. McFedries is getting the upper hand on the exchanges and Drwal works to bring the fight to the ground. McFedries sprawls but is taken down eventually, though he quickly gets up. McFedries is visibly fading and Drwal tags him with a combination, follows it up with a takedown and gets mount. McFedries covers up to survive as the round ends. Round 10-9 Drwal
Round 2: McFedries doesn’t seem to have anything left in the tank, and Drwal rocks him on the feet then takes him down. Drwal easily mounts McFedries, who rolls over and gives up his back. Drwal secures a rear naked choke and a tapout quickly follows.
Aftermath: Tomasz Drwal is now on a three-win streak, getting his first victory in the middleweight division. McFedries on the other hand is still not able to put two consecutive wins together, as a lack of cardio and perseverance prevents him from fighting past the three-minute mark of the first round. McFedries vs. Alessio Sakara should be an entertaining fight that’s guaranteed to not go the distance.
Fight Grade: 3/5
Brian Foster vs. Ricky Story (170 lbs)
Round 1: The round begins with a wild exchange, both men slugging it out with nothing but power shots. Story is hurt and shoots for a takedown; Foster pulls guard and grabs a guillotine but Story escapes and passes to mount. Foster gives up his back and stands up; Story’s nose is leaking blood and appears to be broken. Story drags Foster back to the ground and pounds away, until Foster is bleeding as well. They stand up and slug it out once again to end the round. Round 10-9 Story
Round 2: Another wild exchange, then Story wisely takes it to the ground. Story locks in an arm triangle choke top guard; Foster taps after a brief struggle.
Aftermath: This turned out to be the most enterntaining fight of the card – so good that it earned both fighters a $65,000 bonus for the Fight of the Night, with an additional 65K for the Submission of the Night for Story. So good that it was broadcast twice: both on the preliminary Spike TV card, and at the end of the PPV.
Fight Grade: 4/5
Cole Miller vs. Efrain Escudero (155 lbs)
Round 1: Miller has a significant reach advantage and is using it to keep Escudero at bay. Escudero catches a mid kick and throws Cole to the ground, then lets him stand back up. They circle and exchange, both fighters looking tentative. Escudero again takes Miller down off a kick, and again does not follow him to the ground. Escudero runs at Miller with a flurry; Miller backs up and gets caught on the chin. Miller collapses and Escudero pounds on him until the referee stops the bout.
Aftermath: An impressive victory for ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ winner Efrain Escudero, who has been sidelined with injuries since the reality show finale, and has received a somewhat tougher opponent than the other ‘TUF’ winners have gotten in their first post-TUF fight. Miller looked flat, breaking a two-fight win streak and sending him to back to the bottom of the UFC lightweight heap.
Fight Grade: 3/5
Jim Miller vs. Steve Lopez (155 lbs)
Round 1: Lopez is the aggressor early on, getting caught with a solid shot but firing right back. Miller throws some kicks then flurries and drops Lopez with a punch. Miller smells blood and pounces on Lopez. Miller locks in a guillotine and it looks very tight but Lopez pushes him off, only to get blasted with another flurry. Lopez survives and pulls guard as Miller keeps landing from the top. Lopez works his way back up as the round ends.
Round 2: After an exchange, Lopez walks away from Miller, waving off the fight. Lopez appears to have dislocated his shoulder throwing a punch. The shoulder is visibly dislocated and protruding at an awkward angle. A cringe-worthy ending.
Aftermath: Miller looks as dominant as ever, improving his UFC record to 4-1. He deserves a higher-level opponent in his next bout – perhaps a Tyson Griffin or a rematch with Frank Edgar. Lopez has a painfully disappointing UFC debut.
Fight Grade: 3/5
Main Card (Pay-Per-View)
Tyson Griffin vs. Hermes Franca (159 lbs catchweight)
Round 1: Griffin attacks Franca with low kicks, mixing in punch combinations. Franca mainly circles away and defends, not willing to engage. Griffin is winning the mostly one-sided standup exchanges, Franca only throws an occasional punch. Round 10-9 Griffin
Round 2: Franca is more active in the second, engaging Griffin but mostly throwing haymakers. Franca catches a kick but Griffin refuses to go down and throws punches while balanced on one leg. Griffin is picking Franca apart with combos and leg kicks. Griffin drops Franca with a right and keeps punching away at his downed opponent until Franca is out.
Aftermath: Tyson Griffin gets hist first TKO finish in the UFC, after going to a decision in his last seven bouts. With Griffin and Jim Miller both getting impressive wins, matching them up next would make a lot of sense. Hermes Franca, who came in 4 lbs over the 155 lbs weight limit – some of it added by his clownish purple mop of hair, was in a very poor shape and showed no semblance of a game plan. Hermes has had a rough run since his five-round battle for the title with Sean Sherk, and it looks like his career may be in its last days.
Fight Grade: 3/5
Frank Trigg vs. Josh Koscheck (170 lbs)
Round 1: After some initial circling, the fighters move into striking distance and exchange. Both land, a hook from Koscheck staggers Trigg then another drops him to his knees. Koscheck keeps landing blows until the referee steps in to stop the fight. Trigg protests the stoppage, but it looked justified.
Aftermath: Josh Koscheck bounces back nicely from an upset loss to Paulo Thiago in his last bout. He asks to face Matt Hughes next – a victory over Hughes will certainly propel him back into contender status. Frank Trigg’s hope of making another run at the welterweight title are dashed, and his future unclear, though there are plenty of interesting matchups for him in the UFC if he chooses to keep fighting.
Fight Grade: 3/5
Martin Kampmann vs. Paul Daley (170 lbs)
Round 1: Kampmann is not afraid to trade with Daley, going toe-to-toe with the exception of one failed takedown attempt. Both fighters are landing shots; Daley has more power behind his strikes and wobbles Martin. Kampmann has his back to the fence and is covering up as Daley tees off. Kampmann is taking a lot of punishment and referee Yves Lavigne steps in to stop the fight. Kampmann was still standing and defending himself, poor stoppage.
Aftermath: A very impressive UFC debut for ‘Semtex’ – though it’s questionable as to how he will fare against some of the top grapplers in the division. For now it would be best to match him up with other strikers such as Anthony Johnson or Thiago Silva. Kampmann was originally slated to face Mike Swick, for whom Daley substituted on a short notice, and Dana White hinted that a Daley-Swick matchup may be next. For Kampmann, it’s his first loss at 170 lbs and the back of the line after being on a verge of a title shot.
Fight Grade: 3 2/5 1 point deduction for early stoppage
Rob Emerson vs. Rafael dos Anjos (155 lbs)
Round 1: Dos Anjos mixes up leg kicks with takedown attempts. Emerson has a sprawl-and-brawl strategy that is more sprawl than brawl as he can’t get any offense going. Anjos finally scores a takedown towards the end of the round. Round 10-9 dos Anjos
Round 2: Anjos keeps at it with the leg kicks. Emerson has a hard time defending the inside leg kick, but starts to find his range with punches. Emerson’s leg is starting to show the effect of unchecked kicks. Emerson scores with a few punches but relentless kicks and takedown attempts from Anjos keep Rob from getting a rhythm going. Round 10-9 dos Anjos
Round 3: Anjos with a takedown again and gets it this time. Anjos briefly gets Emerson’s back. Emerson recovers guard; Anjos punches away from the top. Anjos passes to side control. Emerson escapes and gets back to his feet. Emerson attacks but Anjos is keeping him at bay with more leg kicks. Round 10-9 dos Anjos
Rafael dos Anjos defeats Rob Emerson by unanimous decision with scores of 30-27 on all three scorecards
Aftermath: Rafael dos Anjos finally gets a win after losing his first two UFC bouts. ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ alumnus Emerson falls to 2-2 (1 No Contest) in the UFC, losing his second bout in a row, and is in danger of being dropped by the organization.
Fight Grade: 3/5
Junior dos Santos vs. Mirko Filipovic (HW)
Round 1: Santos backs Filipovic up with combinations. Mirko defends and fires back an occasional left straight or body kick. Very low output for Filipovic, who seems content to cover up when Santos attacks and throw an occasional counter. Both fighters are bloodied up by the end of the round. Round 10-9 dos Santos
Round 2: More of the same in the second round, with Santos attacking and Filipovic circling and hanging back. Filipovic goes back to the straight left and whiffs a couple of headkicks – nothing comes close. Dos Santos is doing damage and Mirko slowly fades. Round 10-9 dos Santos
Round 3: Santos attacks Mirko’s body with punches and knees every time Filipovic covers up to avoid Junior’s flurries. Mirko has no answer for Junior’s knees. Santos clinches and lands a knee to the body then another one to the head. Filipovic is stumbling about and waves off the fight. It appears the last couple of strikes have damaged Cro-Cop’s vision.
Aftermath: Junior dos Santos establishes himself as one of the top heavyweight contenders in UFC. He should face the winner of the upcoming bout between Cain Velasquez and Ben Rothwell, with the winner receiving a title shot down the road. Mirko Filipovic has not shown any of his past glory in five UFC outings; though he has signed a multi-fight contract with the organization prior to this bout, the post-fight talk from Filipovic and Dana White both hint at Cro-Cop hanging up the gloves.
Fight Grade: 3/5
Rich Franklin vs. Vitor Belfort (195 lbs catchweight)
Round 1: Both fighters tentative for the first couple of minutes, exchanging strikes with nothing meaningful connecting. Belfort catches Franklin with a jab then a hook that grazes the back of Franklin’s head. Franklin falls to his knees and Belfort opens up with a flurry, finishing Franklin with strikes.
Aftermath: Vitor Belfort becomes an instant title contender in his UFC return, with first round knockouts over Rich Franklin and Matt Lindland in his past two fights. Franklin needs to refocus his career and stop bouncing between weight classes – starting with a lightheavyweight bout against Forrest Griffin or Keith Jardine.
Fight Grade: 3/5
Rafaello Oliveira vs. Nick Lentz (170 lbs)
Round 1: The fighters exchange kicks to start the round. Oliveira takes Lentz down; Lentz attempts a guillotine but Oliveira stands back up. Another takedown for Oliveira to another failed guillotine attempt for Lentz. A brief exchange and Lentz finishes with a takedown of his own. Round 10-9 Oliveira
Round 2: Lentz opens up with kicks. Oliveira responds with a takedown, only to defend the guillotine one more time. A scramble on the ground, then another standing exchange with Lentz just edging out the round. Round 10-9 Lentz
Round 3: Lentz goes on the offense though both men look tired. Another Oliveira takedown to Lentz guillotine attempt – this is the theme of this fight. Back to the feet and Lentz with a takedown. Lentz works group and pound from top guard; Oliveira responds with hammer fists off his back and upkicks when Lentz gives him some room. Lentz does more damage from the top in another close round. Round 10-9 Lentz
Nick Lentz wins the unanimous decision with scores of 30-27, 29-28, 29-28
Aftermath: A largely inconsequential fight between two newcomers.
Fight Grade: 3/5
Though eleven of thirteen bouts were televised – the most of any Zuffa era UFC event to my knowledge – the quantity did not make up for lack of quality, as many of the fights were lackluster and had somewhat anticlimactic endings.