UFC 115: Liddell vs. Franklin

[The Oracle]

Date: Jun 12, 2010
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Venue: GM Place
Broadcast: Pay-per-view and Spike TV

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)

* Chuck Liddell vs. Rich Franklin
* Patrick Barry vs. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic
* Martin Kampmann vs. Paulo Thiago
* Ben Rothwell vs. Gilbert Yvel
* Carlos Condit vs. Rory MacDonald

Some predictions if I may:

Liddell vs Franklin....Liddell. Just feel that the new improved Liddell is going to catch him however if Franklin sticks and moves then he might decision him.

Barry vs Cro Cop.....Barry.Mirko has been a shadow of himself for a while now and I don't expect it to change. Barry by 2nd round stoppage.

Kampmann vs Thiago. Thiago. The feeling is that this is a bad style match up for Kampmann I would agree. Thiago by third round sub.

Rothwell vs Yvel..... Rothwell. Never been a big fan of Yvel and believe Rothwell will just smother him enroute to a decision victory.

Condit vs MacDonald. Macdonald. MacDonald's takedowns should prevail in this one leaving this a grappling match that Rory will win on points.

 

[dj1470]

Franklin by unanimous decision - Rich is too fast for senior citizen Liddell
Mirko by KO 2nd rd - the PRIDE is back bitch
Thiago by unanimous decision - too much for overrated Kampmann
Yvel by KO 1st rd - coin toss but I'll take the hype
Condit by submission 3rd rd - another coin toss but I see Carlos catching him

I'm most excitied to see David Loiseau back in the UFC - hopefully his bout gets televised!!!

 

[Cobster]

After seein' one of Franklin's training regimens, Franklin.
His workouts are NUTS, plus add to that as DJ pointed out, he's younger (so he has speed and endurance in his corner) and Liddell is a bit slower.

Barry's kicks look insane, I can't imagine how that feels.
That'll be a good fight, Mirko is one tough SOB.

 

[Manji]

Date: Jun 12, 2010
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Venue: GM Place
Broadcast: Pay-per-view and Spike TV

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)

* Chuck Liddell vs. Rich Franklin
* Patrick Barry vs. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic
* Martin Kampmann vs. Paulo Thiago
* Ben Rothwell vs. Gilbert Yvel
* Carlos Condit vs. Rory MacDonald

Some predictions if I may:


.

My picks:

Liddell vs Franklin:
Franklin will win by Decision....Franklin will move in and out and if he gets to close try to tie him up with the clinch - maybe even try to take him down and grind out points on the ground...

Barry vs Mirko
Mirko is too slow, too tentative, too old and doesn't have the fire or heart anymore....One of my favourite fighters in Pride will get stopped by leg kicks in the second.....

Thiago vs Kampmann
Thaigo by submission in the third....The submission will be some sort of arm triangle...

Rothwell vs Yvel:
Rothwell will TKO Yvel....Second round....Ref will stop it after Rothwell GNP Yvel and Yvel fail to intelligently defends himself...

Condit vs Macdonald:
Condit by Decision...Condit will outwrestle Macdonald...A Lay n Pray victory for Condit...

Fuck...After doing these predictions I'm kind of worried that it will be a lame night of fights....

 

[smuddan]

Liddell and CroCop should have retired by now. Both are over the hill and I just hope for their own good sake that they don't suffer any more injuries that could affect their well beings in the years after they finally retire from fighting.

 

[Bale]

This will be a lame card.

Franklin & Crocop just aren't exciting to watch any more.

Will be interesting to see if Chuck still has it or if ring rust will be a factor.

They should just put Cain Velasquez on every card if they really want to draw the crowds and make the money. Now that guy can put on a show.

 

[basketcase]

I'll put my bet in that Barry will score the knockout of the night. Mirko is his prime might have made it more interesting but Barry is a beast.

Rest of the fights aren't worth paying for.

 

[EntertainmentMan2000]

winner - Liddell by 1st Round TKO

 

[EntertainmentMan2000]

well, looks like my prediction was somewhat correct except I picked the wrong fighter! well, it was good watching Chuck Liddell in his prime...

 

[Bale]

Sad to see a legend like the Iceman get KO'd by that kind of soft punch but at least Chuck didn't lay back and make it boring so he gets my respect by trying to at least finish Franklin. When I think about it the KO is somewhat reminiscent of the one Anderson Silva gave Forrest Griffin with the main difference being Forrest got rocked very badly by strikes before his KO while Chuck still seemed fresh and was on the offensive. I suppose the fact that he literally ran into Franklin's right hand (shades of Arlovski-Fedor fight too) didn't help much either.
How do you guys feel about Joe Rogan deciding it is time for the Iceman to retire? Everyone's entitled to their opinion and I personally agree with Joe but it just seems a tad disrespectful when the post-fight commentary is basically a "thanks for all the good fights but you should just retire before you hurt yourself more badly old man". Last time I checked, Chuck was an adult who has the ability to make up his own mind about his future. You just have to look at Randy Couture to explain why guys like Chuck still feel they can contribute to the UFC.

Crocop fight was bizarre. Barry had him on his ass 2x in the first round but didn't pounce on him when he could have, why? I realize Barry idolizes Crocop but the excessive touching of gloves, winking, smiling, hugging was over the top. If I was in Barry's corner I would have been slapping him across the face and tell him to focus and finish Mirko. It basically seemed like neither of them wanted to hurt the other guy too badly because they had become too chummy. At the end, Barry was like "here Mirko, take my neck because you are my idol and you've had such a crummy run I want to be your sacrificial lamb to bring you back to your glory days". Then Mirko calls out Dana like he's some badass.... I had to roll my eyes at that.
My guess, Mirko's camp paid off Barry's camp earlier in the week.

Kampmann fight was decent. I was surprised at how easy Kampmann dominated Thiago both in the standup and on the ground. Thiago definitely needs to polish up his striking techniques.

 

[The Oracle]

What was learned from tonights bouts:

Firstly is that I suck at picking winners. Missed four out of five.

Franklin is one tough SOB and Chuck's chin is shot. Exit papers are imminent.

Barry should have moved in for the finish after the second knockdown instead he let Cro-Cop gain momentum and confidence. Big mistake especially given his limited gas tank.

Kampmann was just better in every area than Thiago. Even on the ground,truly shocking.

Yvel as usual sucks on the ground but I was surprised that Rothwell was able to survive the one onslaught that Yvel gave him in the second round.

Rory had that fight won he just needed to stick and move for the last round. Instead he gets taken down and is subjected to a fierce ground and pound. Experience showed in this fight.

 

[shepP]

Good card. I don't feel bad for buying this one. I was pretty much with Oracle on my picks. I'm glad I didn't make this my first foray into online betting. I guess I will save that for Lesnar vs Carwin. That card looks to have some good fights as well. Go Joe Silva!

 

[dj1470]

What did we learn from UFC 115?

1. Yves Lavigne is a disgrace as a referee
2. Condit is the real deal and Rory needs seasoning
3. Yvel gasses quick and Rothwell is going no where with his lay and pray in that division
4. Thiago had a bad, bad, bad night but I still think Kampmann is overrated
5. Mirko is back and looked great but it was strange Barry didn't punish him more in the 1st.
6. Liddell is done - too many fights, too old, and no chin anymore and Rich has a huge heart.

I went 3 for 5 - not bad since I only bet on Mirko and Rich so I'm happy and $335 richer.

 

[Cobster]

well, looks like my prediction was somewhat correct except I picked the wrong fighter! well, it was good watching Chuck Liddell in his prime...

lol

For him to go halfway through the fight with a broken left arm and STILL knock Liddell out just shows how powerful and intense he is.
I saw his training routine and it's just ridiculous.
I honestly couldn't see Liddell knocking Franklin out ever.

Found a link, check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cq7Kdv0RHmc

 

[smuddan]

Franklin has a big heart, but I thought he was dominated by Liddell before that one lucky punch, lucky in the sense that he didn't also break his right hand as Liddell hit Franklin's fist with his head just as hard. More than anything this fight proved that Liddell was finished as a MMA fighter.

 

[splooge]

Liddell is not finished. Did you hear him post match?

 

[hardy2003]

What did we learn from UFC 115?

1. Yves Lavigne is a disgrace as a referee
2. Condit is the real deal and Rory needs seasoning
3. Yvel gasses quick and Rothwell is going no where with his lay and pray in that division
4. Thiago had a bad, bad, bad night but I still think Kampmann is overrated
5. Mirko is back and looked great but it was strange Barry didn't punish him more in the 1st.
6. Liddell is done - too many fights, too old, and no chin anymore and Rich has a huge heart.

I went 3 for 5 - not bad since I only bet on Mirko and Rich so I'm happy and $335 richer.

Also, we learned that Franklin knocks a guy out with a broken arm and Cro Cop summits a guy after getting his face smashed in. In other words: these guys are the toughest guys on the planet!!!!

 

[The Oracle]

Liddell is not finished. Did you hear him post match?

I would like too know what you heard because he wasn't at the post fight press conference and left the cage immediately after regaining his composure.

From there he went directly to the hospital.

I can't find one interview or quote.

 

[dj1470]

Liddell is not finished. Did you hear him post match?

Like Muhammad Ali someone needs to stop him before he gets too permenantly damaged.
His family especially needs to hold an intervention and get him to stop.
He was great once but is now finished.

 

[dj1470]

Also, we learned that Franklin knocks a guy out with a broken arm and Cro Cop summits a guy after getting his face smashed in. In other words: these guys are the toughest guys on the planet!!!!

summit?
You mean like climb and reach the top?
I think you mean "submit".
LOL jk
I am a huge CroCop fan but he got lucky. Barry let him off the hook for some insane reason and then Mirko's experience kicked in. Literally.