In fact, each of the event’s participants were issued some sort of layoff from action, though only one, Mirko Filipovic, received more than a month-long mandated break from competition. “Cro Cop” has been suspended indefinitely due to the eye-injury he sustained against Junior Dos Santos which ultimately forced the former member of Croatian Parliament to verbally submit in what will likely be his final appearance inside the Octagon.

The remaining medical suspensions are as follows:

Vitor Belfort (9/27)
Rich Franklin (10/20)
Junior Dos Santos (9/29)
Paul Daley (9/27)
Martin Kampmann (10/20)
Josh Koscheck (9/27)
Frank Trigg (10/20)
Tyson Griffin (9/27)
Hermes Franca (10/20)
Efrain Escudero (9/27)
Cole Miller (10/20)
Tomasz Drwal (9/27)
Drew McFedries (9/27)
Jim Miller (9/27)
Steve Lopez (10/20)
Nick Lentz (9/29)
Rafaello Oliveira (9/29)
Rick Story (9/27)
Brian Foster (9/27)
Eliot Marshall (9/29)
Jason Brilz (9/29)
Vladimir Matyushenko (9/29)
Igor Pokrajac (9/29)
Rafael Dos Anjos (9/29)
Rob Emerson (9/29)

I was surprised, and a little bit disappointed that Rich Franklin didn’t at least attempt to take the fight to the ground

How does beating Franklin at 195 pounds justify an immediate title shot at 185 pounds? In my opinion it doesn’t. Definitely not over guys like Dan Henderson, Nate Marquardt or Yushin Okami. All of those guys have at least fought at middleweight in the UFC before. When has Vitor fought at middleweight in the Octagon before again? Oh, that’s right, never. So it makes all the sense in the world to give him a shot at Silva before the previously noted challengers because it’s a sexier match-up, right? Wrong. Belfort can get in line. I’d love to see him face off with any of the guys I mentioned before, but unless Henderson is facing Anderson in his next bout, I see a move up in weight in his immediate future. Here’s my suggestion: How about we set up Marquardt vs. Belfort right now, winner fights Silva when he’s fit to return from elbow surgery. Henderson goes up to 205, and Okami learns how to be more marketable. Problem solved.

It’s official folks, Cro Cop was overrated. Lets be real, the Cro Cop we came to fear and love is no more. As a matter of fact, once feared knockout artist has come a long way from the period in time where he was indiscriminately kicking men in their skulls, leaving a trail of unconscious bodies in his wake. The last time Mirko delivered one of those highlight reel head kicks most fans have come to associate with him against a much smaller Wanderlei Silva in 2006, and the next one down was over five years ago. Think about that people. It’s been over five years since has knocked anyone his size out with his trademark left high kick. Before that it was Igor Vovchanchyn and Dos Caras Jr. A far cry from the top dogs in the UFC’s heavyweight division of today. Are there still fights Cro Cop can win? Certainly. Will he ever be a champion in the UFC, absolutely not. The riddle has been solved. Cro Cop needs to fight at his pace and doesn’t respond well to being bullied. Just another fallen hero from the glory days of PRIDE FC, and a testament to the constant evolution of this amazing sport we have had the good fortune to watch develop.

I still can’t seem to figure out why so little emphasis was put on dragging Paul Daley to the ground on Martin Kampmann’s end. I know he tried to take him down once early on, but after that it was like Kampmann just settled in to trading with Daley. Horrible idea. If there’s one thing Daley is good at, it’s knocking his opponents out. I don’t think it would be a good idea for anyone to stand and bang with the heavy handed UK knockout artist at 170 pounds, period. After Kampmann landed his first strike of significance, a hard knee in the clinch, he made the fatal mistake of thinking Daley was wobbled, which he wasn’t. Now I know that Paul has incredible takedown defense so I’m not saying that it would have been easy for Kampmann to drag him down, but there’s no question that he should have at least put some effort into it. Live and learn, Martin is an incredibly talented fighter and I’m sure he’ll be back better than ever.

Anthony Johnson vs. Paul Daley anyone? Make this fight happen Joe Silva, please! The win over Kampmann made Daley instantly relevant at welterweight. After Johnson puts a beating on Yoshiyuki Yoshida at UFC 104 he’s going to be in a good place to challenge for the title as well. Now I’m not telling you how to do your job, but if I was in your shoes here’s what I do: I have Mike Swick fight Matt Hughes with the winner facing GSP for the title. In the meantime I have the winner of Johnson vs. Daley face the winner of Fitch vs. Almeida. From there, the winner faces the champion. Just an idea.

Josh Koscheck answered a lot of questions by executing the gameplan he did against Frank Trigg. Now I’m not going to say that Paulo Thiago got lucky when he dropped Kos with that big uppercut at UFC 95, but I do think that Koscheck “just got caught”. It’s not an excuse for being knocked out, but more of a reality at competing at this level of competition. Koscheck was executing his gameplan and winning the bout with Thiago before he got stopped. However, the fact that he got dropped made many, including myself, question his stand-up arsenal. A newly developed tool for the lifelong wrestler I had just began to have a certain level of faith in following his impressive stoppages of Dustin Hazelett and Yoshiyuki Yoshida. The fact that Josh chose to keep the fight standing and bang Trigg out let me know that Koscheck truly understands the circumstances of his last loss. If he would have came out and just took Trigg to the ground, which he could have, it would have made me think that he was second guessing his stand-up. Second guessing yourself in any area of MMA is no place to be once that cage door slams shut. Will Koscheck fight like a kickboxer for the rest of his days in the Octagon? I highly doubt it. He’s a smart guys and knows he has to keep his opponents guessing to obtain success in the cage in the long haul. A win over Trigg in the fashion that it came was the best possible scenario for Kos and his confidence. I fully expect for him to challenge for the title before the end of 2010.

Hermes Franca looked absolutely horrible. In more ways than one. First off, I don’t remember seeing a lightweight fighter rocking man-boobs outside of some shady regional shows in ages. Definitely not in the UFC. His atrocious physical condition combined with the creepy purple hair created a combination that served to transform Hermes into a human eyesore in HD. His punches were bush league. Sure, Franca hits like a truck, but his boxing seems to have stopped evolving in grade school. Watching Franca swing for the fences with those sloppy haymakers looked more like something I’d see in a Tough Man competition than something I’d expect to see in the highest level of professional fighting on the planet. I for one, won’t be looking forward to watching Franca fight in the near future.

How many of the UFC’s lightweights could make 145? Seriously, I think there’s no question that Franca should be at featherweight, and it seems like Griffin could possibly make the cut as well. Unless the UFC opens up a 145 pound division in the near future, we will continue to have guys fighting a weight class too heavy because of the increased opportunities that come from fighting in the UFC. Furthermore, I’d be shocked if we didn’t see guys like Urijah Faber, Mike Brown and Jose Aldo making the jump to 155 sooner rather than later.

Kudos to Tyson Griffin for not only finishing a fight, but finishing a guy like Franca. It’s a well known fact that Hermes is as tough as they come, having only been stopped by strikes once in his career that includes bouts with many of the best fighters in the world at lightweight. Not only did Griffin finish the bout, but he showed tremendous killer instinct by choosing to stick with his ground and pound assault on the hurt Franca after the dangerous submission fighter briefly went for a leg submission. Griffin could have easily bounced out of the situation and played the safe role, but he chose to commit to the beatdown he was laying on Franca, and because of that he scored one for the highlight reel.

The convincing win over Cole Miller made Efrain Escudero an instant force in the UFC’s lightweight division. If Miller ended up with his hand raised at the end of the bout he would have instantly been thrust into match-ups with some of the top dogs at 155 pounds. While Escudero should still have another fight or so in front of him before he starts getting those fights, a win over a guy like Miller propelled him up the lightweight ladder faster than the majority of the TUF winners in the past. Efrain fought his fight and showed why the ability to keep the fight where you want it to be is just so pivotal in this day and age. Miller’s best chance at winning this fight was on the ground. Escudero completely took that away from him by being the more powerful and dominant wrestler. He forced Miller into a stand-up fight without having to stuff a single takedown, making the first knockout of Escudero’s career look like business as usual to the constantly evolving 155 pounder. Nine submissions in twelve wins tells you that Escudero is quickly shaping up to be an incredible force in the UFC’s lightweight division of tomorrow.

Story was awarded both “Submission of the Night” and “Fight of the Night” in lieu of his performance against Brian Foster at UFC 103. Each honor netted him $65,000. Vitor Belfort also pocketed an extra sixty-five thousand dollars for “Knockout of the Night” based on his first-round TKO victory over former UFC Champion Rich Franklin.

The summarized list of UFC 103 bonuses is as follows:

Fight of the Night – Rick Story vs. Brian Foster

Submission of the Night – Rick Story (Arm-Triangle Choke)

Knockout of the Night – Vitor Belfort

Vitor Belfort

After an extended feeling out process with both fighters doing their best to pick their shots, Belfort countered a combination of Franklin punches perfectly, landing a glancing left and crushing right hand that sent Rich reeling to the Octagon canvas. A few more hard punches from Belfort on the collapsed Franklin brought a halt to the contest at 3:02 of the opening round.

While both Junior dos Santos and Mirko”Cro Cop” Filipovic shared moments in the first two rounds of their heavyweight match-up in Dallas,  it was the Brazilian striker that seemed to be carrying an edge going into final round. After a punishing series of knees in the clinch from dos Santos, the Black House trained fighter backed away as Cro Cop held his face in pain. After a brief moment of confusion it became clear that Mirko didn not want to continue in the bout.

It is possible that Filipovic may have had a bone in his face broken, but no news is available as of this time to the extent of the Croatian striker’s possible injuries suffered during the bout.

Many experts rationalized that Kampmann would have a decisive edge in this match-up due to his considerably more dangerous ground attack. Surprisingly, outside of a single takedown attempt early on, Kampmann was more than willing to trade with Daley, and it was this willingness to trade that ended up costing him  the bout.

After stunning Kampmann with a big right hand, Daley swarmed the Xtreme Couture trained fighter with a vicious assault of punches that forced the referee to call a halt to the contest just midway throught the opening frame.

Josh Koscheck

This one was over just as fast as it began. A little over a minute into the bout Koscheck connected with a big right hand, dropping Trigg to the canvas where he finished him off at the 1:25 mark with a flurry of well placed punches.

In the twenty-six professional fights and seven losses on Hermes Franca‘s record coming into this evening’s bout with Tyson Griffin, only once had the heavy handed Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt been stopped with strikes, making Griffin’s stoppage victory tonight that much more impressive.

After a feeling out process in round one, the pair turned it up a notch in the second round, both looking to connect with powerful shots, but it was Griffin that connected first. A big right hand sent Franca crashing to the canvas where a handful of hard punches left the referee with no other option but to call a halt to the beating.

Efrain Escudero

After tossing Miller to the canvas halfway through the first round and refusing to follow him down, it became apparent that Efrain’s intentions were to keep the fight on the feet. Just moments later a huge right hand from the Arizona native sent Miller crashing to the canvas, where Escudero followed it up with several more powerful punches that separated Miller from consciousness.

Tomasz Drwal and Drew McFedries came out like they had a deep grudge against one another as both men attempted to knock the others’ head from their shoulders with a series of brutal exchanges. It seemed like McFedries began to tire torwards the end of the first round, and it ended up taking Drwal all of 1:03 to knock the fatigued brawler to the canvas where he sinched up the rear-naked choke for the victory in the second.

Other fighters that put themselves in the winners column during the preliminary portion of UFC 103 include Ricky Story, Jim Miller and Vladimir Matyushenko.

A full list of results from the UFC 103 prelims are below:

COLE MILLER VS. EFRAIN ESCUDERO – Winner: Efrain Escudero via TKO (punches) -Round 1

TOMASZ DRWAL VS. DREW MCFEDRIES – Winner: Tomasz Drwal via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2

JIM MILLER VS. STEVE LOPEZ – Winner: Jim Miller via TKO (injury – Lopez’ shoulder popped out of socket from a jab) – Round 2

RAFAELLO OLIVEIRA VS. NICK LENTZ – Winner: Nick Lentz via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

RICKY STORY VS. BRIAN FOSTER – Winner: Rick Story via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 1

JASON BRILZ VS. ELIOT MARSHALL – Winner: Eliot Marshall via split decision (30-28, 27-30, 30-27)

IGOR POKRAJAC VS. VLADIMIR MATYUSHENKO – Winner: Vladimir Matyushenko via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

RAFAEL DOS ANJOS VS. ROB EMERSON – Winner: Rafael dos Anjos via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

FiveOuncesOfPain.com

UFC 103 is set to take place from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, with a portion of the preliminary card airing live on Spike TV beginning at 9 pm ET and the main card starting at 10 pm ET. However, our coverage of the event will kick off right here sometime after 6 pm ET.

Live results will be refreshed right here as they happen, with Five Ounces’ very own JollyDV (Melissa) calling them like she sees them in the comment section below. Make sure to refresh often, and tell us what you think about the fights. We want to hear how you really feel. If you’re not already signed up at 5 Oz., do it. Takes less than a minute and it will be the best decision you’ve ever made.

This evening’s main event will be a 195 pound showdown between Rich “Ace” Franklin and Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort, with other exciting match-ups including Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Junior dos Santos, Josh Koscheck vs. Frank Trigg and so many more.

So fight fans get ready. Call up your friends, fire up the barbecue, or do whatever you have to do to get yourself ready for tonight, and make sure to check in at your home for MMA at some point to say what’s up. As Big John McCarthy would say, “Lets get it on!!”.

RAFAEL DOS ANJOS VS. ROB EMERSON – Winner: Rafael dos Anjos via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

IGOR POKRAJAC VS. VLADIMIR MATYUSHENKO – Winner: Vladimir Matyushenko via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

JASON BRILZ VS. ELIOT MARSHALL – Winner: Eliot Marshall via split decision (30-28, 27-30, 30-27)

RICKY STORY VS. BRIAN FOSTER – Winner: Rick Story via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 1

RAFAELLO OLIVEIRA VS. NICK LENTZ – Winner: Nick Lentz via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

JIM MILLER VS. STEVE LOPEZ – Winner: Jim Miller via TKO (injury – Lopez’ shoulder popped out of socket from a jab) – Round 2

TOMASZ DRWAL VS. DREW MCFEDRIES – Winner: Tomasz Drwal via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2

COLE MILLER VS. EFRAIN ESCUDERO – Winner: Efrain Escudero via TKO (punches) -Round 1

HERMES FRANCA VS. TYSON GRIFFIN – Winner: Tyson Griffin via knockout (punches) – Round 2

JOSH KOSCHECK VS. FRANK TRIGG - Winner: Josh Koscheck via TKO (punches) - Round 1

PAUL DALEY VS. MARTIN KAMPMANN – Winner: Paul Daley via TKO (punches) – Round 1

MIRKO “CRO COP” FILIPOVIC VS. JUNIOR DOS SANTOS – Winner: Junior dos Santos via submission (verbal) – Round 3

RICH FRANKLIN VS. VITOR BELFORT – Winner: Vitor Belfort via knockout – Round 1

The event takes place tomorrow evening and will be headlined by a 195 pound bout between Rich Franklin and Vitor Belfort, with other main card match-ups featuring Junior dos Santos vs. Mrko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, Josh Koscheck vs. Frank Trigg and more.

Rich Franklin (195) vs. Vitor Belfort (196)**

Junior Dos Santos (236) vs. Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (226)

Martin Kampmann (169.5) vs. Paul Daley (170)

Josh Koscheck (170) vs. Frank Trigg (170.25)

Hermes Franca (159) vs. Tyson Griffin (155.5) (b0ut agreed to catch-weight of 159lbs.)

Efrain Escudero (156)* vs. Cole Miller (155)

Jim Miller (154.5) vs. Steve Lopez (154.5)

Rafaello Oliveira (155.25) vs. Nick Lentz (155)

Brian Foster (170.75) vs. Rick Story (170)

Tomasz Drwal (185) vs. Drew McFedries (185.25)

Eliot Marshall (204.75) vs. Jason Brilz (205.25)

Vladimir Matyushenko (205) vs. Igor Pokrajac (203)

Rafael dos Anjos (155.5) vs. Rob Emerson (155.5)

*Escudero missed weight initially but came back and made weight shortly afterwords

**Belfort missed weight as well, but also managed to make the cut in time

UFC® 103 FRANKLIN vs BELFORT

FiveOuncesOfPain.com will have continuing coverage of the weekends MMA action so stay tuned for up to the minute coverage of all the weekends MMA action.

Come along as Five Ounces’  very own David Andrest digs into the card with reckless abandon, while managing editor Cory Brady chirps in to tell him what he did wrong.

MAIN CARD (pay-per-view starting at 10p.m. EST.)

Vitor Belfort vs. Rich Franklin

This fight is being billed as the fight the entire mixed martial arts world is talking about when “The Phenom”, former UFC® light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort, makes his long-awaited return to the Octagon™ to face UFC superstar Rich “Ace” Franklin”.  It’s certainly the biggest fight of the weekend and should be entertaining.

Franklin enters the fight coming off a hard fought victory against Wanderlei Silva. Franklin if nothing else is consistent.  Every time we see Rich Franklin he is fighting a top name and bringing his best.

Belfort is coming off an absolute beating of Matt Lindland, which caused the Team Quest fighter to resemble a new born baby deer  rather than one of the more feared middleweights in the game.  The wrap on Belfort has always been mental. Some have called his mental preparation into question.  But honestly I have to wonder if it were anyone other than “The Phenom” if this would have ever been asked.  With  names like  Couture, Liddell, Henderson, Overeem and Sakuraba accounting for Belfort’s only losses one quickly realizes that perhaps mental preparation didn’t have as much to do with it as the pundit’s would have us think.  Vitor Belfort is the goods.

The Prediction: As much as I want to pick Rich Franklin to win this fight, I simply can’t.  Rich is more consistent, has faced better fighters recently, and other than Anderson Silva, has not lost in a very long time. ( Yes, I know, You can call the Hendo fight a loss, but you would be wrong) .   Belfort is on a roll with four straight wins, and has been looking better than ever.  What it comes down to for me is who is the better fighter.  An in shape and focused Belfort is the best fighter Franklin will have ever faced ( write that one down).  With the fight taking place at 195 I have no choice but to think Belfort will be in shape.   And last but not least, the UFC didn’t bring Belfort in to lose.

Winner:  Belfort  KO round 1

Cory Brady: Wow…. I don’t know where to begin with this one. First off, an in shape and focused Belfort doesn’t beat an out of shape, unfocused Anderson Silva, or Lyoto Machida nine times out of ten in my opinion. For me, yeah Vitor’s a scary dude, but when people say he has returned to his old form, just try to keep in mind that his old form was back in… well, when was Belfort really at his peak? Was it when he racked up four wins in PRIDE in between losses to Kazushi Sakuraba and Chuck Lidell? Or was it when he first burst onto the scene in the UFC back in 1997, beating up fat guys like Tank Abbott and Scott Ferrozzo? I’m not trying to say that Belfort isn’t an extremely talented fighter, he is, but I think history has proven that he wasn’t really the “Phenom” he was originally hyped up to be. With that being said, you may not think that the UFC brought Belfort in to lose, they really have no say in the matter once that cage door slams shut. Belfort has been on a role lately, but trust me, Franklin is no Terry Martin or Matt Lindland. For as much that has been made of Belfort’s Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt throughout the years, I hardly think of him as any kind of expert on the ground. He’s submitted two guys on the ground, ever, and Franklin will not be the third. The best bet for Franklin will be to dictate the pace of the bout by landing punches and kicks, taking Belfort to the ground and working his ground and pound… and rinse and repeat.

Prediction: Franklin via unanimous decision (Quite possibly FOTN material)

Junior Dos Santos vs. Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic

Dos Santos, has been impressive thus far in the UFC, as a young fighter who has never entered the second frame in the Octagon, his confidence is at an all time high.  With a young fighter like Dos Santos my biggest concern is always the skill set.  Is Dos Santo better than Croatian Superstar at this point of his career.  Buy all recent accounts Dos Santos will be quicker, more explosive, and more aggressive. CroCop will be the larger of the two fighters, and bring the experience.  Unfortunately he will bring the experience of a slowing fighter who has not appeared in top form in quite some time.   It’s actually sad to watch a man who was once the most feared striker in MMA become a stepping stone riddled with excuses for bad performances.

The Prediction: It’ll be simple to impress your friends during this fight.  If Cro Cop is moving backwards and being stalked by Dos Santos, it’ll be another quick night for Dos Santos.   Cro Cop’s only chance is to be patient without being pushed around by the smaller Dos Santos and being accurate when he strikes.  Dos Santos has bad habits ( see a right hand carried very low) but if Cro Cop is slow to discover them, he holds little chance of pulling off the victory.

Winner: Dos Santos  KO  late round 1 early round 2.

Cory Brady: Wrong again you are Skywalker, because Dos Santos’ perceived strength on the feet will only serve to be his undoing. Flat out, CroCop is the better striker of the two. That’s something you’re going to have to deal with. A Brazilian kickboxing championship, a knockout over an incredibly flabby and out of shape Fabricio Werdum, a recent win over Stefan Struve, and all of a sudden Mirko is at some kind of disadvantage on the feet? Not going to happen. Dos Santos isn’t as physically large and powerful as most of the men that have beaten Cro Cop in the past, and his not being a threat on the ground allows Filipovic to concentrate on doing what he does best.

Prediction: Cro Cop via head or body kick

Paul Daley vs. Martin Kampmann

Martin Kampmann was scheduled to fight Mike Swick in this spot, but an injury sent the UFC in search of a replacement.  Who they found was Paul Daley, a British striker with exceptional power. With that said, I find it hard to believe this fight will not make it to the floor with Kampmann is far superior to Daley.

Winner: Martin Kampmann via submission

Cory Brady: I’m with you on this one. Daley is an explosive knockout artist, and I really hope the UFC does the right thing and matches him up with a fellow striker as a reward for taking this fight on such short notice. With that being said, the submission attack has been an achilles heel for Daley in the past, and it’s going to be then end of him in this one too.

Prediction: Kampmann via submission

Josh Koscheck vs. Frank Trigg

This is the fight I am most looking forward to on this card.  Koscheck is without a doubt better on the feet, and a better wrestler. In fact Koscheck is better everywhere. Trigg on the other hand has had a good career, and the better portion of his losses come against absolute top level fighters.  This fight is interesting to me, as I feel Koscheck may not be as good as many think, and Trigg may not be as mediocre and past his prime as many may believe.  This has potential to be FOTN, but with the wrestling pedigree involved it could also turn out to be a real snoozefest.

Winner: Josh Koscheck via decision

Cory Brady: While I agree with you on the outcome, I definitely don’t feel like this fight has any potential to be FOTN. You’re right, Kos is better everywhere. This fight ends one of two ways; either Koscheck comes out and runs through Trigg like a derailed freight train or he plays it safe and grinds out a three round decision. Either way you slice it, Koscheck returns to the winners circle tomorrow night.

Prediction: Koscheck via TKO

Hermes Franca vs. Tyson Griffin

This fight is Tyson Griffin’s to lose.  Better boxing, wrestling, and bigger wins.  Franca is always dangerous on the ground, but I think we will be watching a one sided fight that will be part kickboxing, part good old American wrestling.

Winner:  Tyson Griffin via decision ( I know I went out on a limb there)

Cory Brady: This is absolutely my front-runner to get the FOTN bonus. What a great match-up! Griffin’s never been tapped but I’ll tell you what, if anyone can do it, it’s Hermes. He won’t though. Griffin is a better wrestler and he’s going to keep it standing. I personally love to watch Tyson fight. I look forward to watching his stand-up arsenal evolve. This will be another step in that evolution.

Winner: Griffin via decision (FOTN)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike TV starting at 9p.m. EST.)

Efrain Escudero vs. Cole Miller

Laughable, I know Cory will disagree, but Cole Miller is on such a higher level than Escudero I question the commission even allowing this fight to happen. Escudero has one way to win this fight, Miller has countless.  Miller is the bigger stronger fighter and will show the ability to shake off the wet blanket should the need arise.

Winner: Cole Miller Triangle

Cory Brady: You question the commission even allowing this fight to happen? You have to be kidding me, right? When did Cole Miller become the next coming in the lightweight division? Was it when he beat Andy Wang? Or maybe it was when he edged out a smaller Leonard Garcia by unanimous decision. It couldn’t have been when he was TKO’d by Jeremy Stephens, but perhaps wins over Jorge Gurgel and Junie Browning are cause for such high praise. I’m not saying Cole’s not a good fighter, he’s a damn good fighter, but to say Efrain is out of his league is nothing short of crazy talk. Escudero is 11-0 with wins over Shane Nelson, Phillipe Nover and Junie Browning. Does that make him a shoe in for the winner of Penn/Sanchez? No, but he’s hardly out of his league in this bout with Miller. Quite the contrary I would argue. Nine submissions out of eleven victories tell you that Efrain’s not going to get trapped in every submission attempt that is thrown at him. He is the better wrestler, and a much more powerful striker. It may not be pretty, but Escudero remains undefeated in this fight.

Prediction: Escudero via decision

Tomasz Drwal vs. Drew McFedries

Neither of these two fighters will dazzle you with their ground game. I’m expecting a stand up war, Drwal is the bigger of the two guys, however McFedriesis the better striker with a noticeable advantage in power.

Winner: Drew McFedries via KO round 2.

Cory Brady: You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that this one is going to be fireworks while it lasts. My kind of fight. I predict a lot of violence in this one. I know Drwal was stopped recently by Thiago Silva, but being knocked out isn’t something he’s made a habit out of during is career. A recent “Knockout of the Night” performance over Mike Ciesnolevicz, and a past TKO victory over a fighter I have a lot of respect for, Lucio Linhares, makes me want to make this one my gut pick of the night.

Prediction: Drwal via TKO

Initially scheduled to debut against Brian Foster at UFC 103, the former Cage Rage welterweight champion stepped in on short notice to face Kampmann in place of an injured Mike Swick. This move also placed Daley on the televised main card for the event instead of the undercard.

The Nottingham, England fighter recently sat down with Telegraph.co.uk and gave his reaction to the news that he would be facing Kampmann, explaining,”I got a text from my manager, and immediately I read it and thought ‘I am having it!’. I grabbed some of my coaches and watched some films of his fights. I’ve know of Kampmann for years, actually, I’ve emailed with him in the past and we’ve helped each other with advice on where to train.

“It is a better fight for me than the Foster fight. I won’t be fighting the best Kampmann, because with so much to lose he will be very nervous and unsettled at the start. This would have been a number one contender fight, but now he’s in a position that if he wins he kinda stays where he is. That’s tough psychologically for a fighter. I can exploit that in a hurry if that happens.

“I’ve got a lot on the line too. A lot of people have written on the forums that this is a win/win for me, that even a good showing on such short notice is going to be a good result for me. But I could never be happy with a loss, no way. I’d be disgusted with myself if I was ever happy that I lost.

Paul Daley has combined a 21-8-2 record and has shown incredible punching power, his takedown defense is questionable, but he seemingly has nothing to lose with the Kampmann fight. If he wins, he beat someone in line for a title shot. If he puts on a good effort and loses, he shows the UFC and fans alike that he belongs in the octagon.

Martin Kampmann 15-2, on the other hand, has a lot more to loss in this fight. If he loses to “Semtex”, he loses his current bid for a shot at Georges St. Pierre and has to start over again. If he wins, he probably stays idle for another fight, possibly facing the winner of Mike Swick’s next fight to determine who’s next in line for GSP.

However, a lot of credit is deserved for Kampmann taking on a newcomer in Daley, he knows he has more to lose and should be more than willing to fight for it.

According to Swick’s Twitter account, he suffered a “pretty bad” concussion while training when his legs were swept from under him and he landed on his head/neck. No timetable has been announced for his return to the Octagon.

In related news, British publication The Sun is reporting newly signed welterweight Paul Daley will step in for the injured Swick to face Kampmann. Daley, who was originally scheduled to face Brian Foster on the same card, is a respected striker who has compiled 16 TKOs in his 21 wins.

Spike TV has officially announced it will broadcast some of the undercard, commercial free, leading up to the pay-per-view telecast. The UFC 103 telecast live from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, will mark the first time Spike TV will air a fight card without commercial interruption.

The preliminary bouts scheduled to take place, live on Spike, include former “The Ultimate Fighter” cast members Efrain Escudero (11-0) vs. Cole Miller (15-3). Escudero earned his first official win in the UFC, by defeating Phillipe Nover by unanimous decision during the main event of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir Finale, while Cole Miller is coming off first round submission of TUF alumni, Junie Browning.

Also scheduled is Tomasz Drwal (16-2-1) vs. Drew McFedries (8-5). Drwal is coming off a two fight win streak, while the hard hitting McFedries is coming off an impressive TKO victory of Xavier Foupa-Pokam.

It will be interesting to see how the UFC does against the PPV giant that is Floyd Mayweather Jr. He has been quite the draw in his last two fights, earning victories over Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton.

Before his May 2007 fight with De La Hoya, Mayweather criticized the UFC, stating that any quality boxer could easily become the champion and that, while boxing is an art, UFC was a temporary fad.

I wonder what Larry Merchant will say?

FiveOuncesOfPain.com was recently able to confirm the bout through sources close to the fight.

UFC 103 will be taking place from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on September 19 and will air live on pay-per-view.

Miller was recently left without an opponent for UFC 103 after Thiago Tavares was sidelined due to a knee injury suffered while training before Lopez was tabbed by the UFC as a replacement in the bout.

Miller has established himself as a legitimate contender in the UFC’s 155 pound division after putting together victories over the likes of David Baron, Matt Wiman, and most recently, Mac Danzig at UFC 100. His sole defeat in the octagon came in the form of a hard fought decision against fellow title contender Gray Maynard at UFC 96. The AMA Fight Club trained fighter holds a career record of 13-2, with nine of his wins coming by way of submission.

Lopez last saw action in October of 2008. He has a fought in a variety of promotions, putting together a career record of 12-1 with his only loss coming by way of split decision. He’s known as a well rounded fighter with dangerous striking ability. The bout against Miller will be a significant jump in competition for Lopez, but with a record of 12-1, it seems like a necessary leap.

Matyushenko will be taking on Igor Pokrajac on the undercard of UFC 103, live from Dallas, Texas.

Matyushenko, considered one of the top light heavyweights in the world, last appeared in the Octagon at UFC 44 in a loss against Andre Arlovski. Since leaving the UFC six years ago, Matyushenko has gone 9-1 with his only loss coming in a rematch against Antonio Rodgerio Noguiera .

His opponent, Pokrajac (21-5), known for being Cro-Cop’s main sparring partner, is currently riding a eight fight winning streak.

UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort is scheduled to air live on September 19th, 2009 from the American Airlines Center. The card, which will air head to head against boxing superfight Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Juan Manuel Marquez, has already confirmed Cro Cop vs. Junior Dos Santos, Josh Koscheck against Frank Trigg, and Mike Swick taking on Martin Kampmann with a future title fight on the line.

The news comes directly from Franklin himself who posted the news of the bout’s catch-weight agreement via his personal Twitter account.

“Just found out I will be fighting Vitor at a catch-weight of 195 as per his request,” recently tweated the former UFC middleweight champion.

The bout with Belfort will mark Franklin’s second 195 pound fight in as many bouts. His last trip to the Octagon saw him on the winning end of a hard fought decision over Wanderlei Silva competing in the same weight class.

Belfort was recently signed by the UFC after the cancellation of “Affliction Trilogy” where the Brazilian knockout artist was scheduled to face off with Jorge Santiago. his last appearance saw him crush Matt Lindland with a series of punches in a middleweight contest held at “Affliction: Day of Reckoning in January of this year.

The bout between Franklin and Belfort was recently made in favor of a previous headlining bout between Rich and Dan Henderson that many fans had voiced displeasure over.

UFC 103 will be taking place on September 19 from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.

A full list of the bouts now expected for UFC 103 are listed below:

Rich Franklin vs. Vitor Belfort

Martin Kampmann vs. Mike Swick

Junior dos Santos vs. Mirko Filipovic

Josh Koscheck vs. Frank Trigg

Tyson Griffin vs. Hermes Franca

Efrain Escudero vs. Cole Miller

Sean Sherk vs. Gleison Tibau

Drew McFedries vs. Tomasz Drwal

Eliot Marshall vs. Jason Brilz

Rafael dos Anjos vs. Robert Emerson

Adding fuel to the fire, a newly available fighter such as Tito Ortiz or Vitor Belfort could be seeing action in the Octagon on September 19th as UFC.com has recently removed the previously announced rematch between Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson scheduled to headline UFC 103 in Dallas, TX.

The move was not only a surprise to fans expecting a second clash between the iconic fighters but apparently Franklin himself as well. Earlier today “Ace” posted the following message through Twitter:

“I’ve heard the UFC pulled my fight off the website for 103. I don’t know why. They haven’t spoken to me about this and I assume the fight is still on.”

Henderson has not yet responded on the matter via Twitter but assures people he ate some excellent Mako Shark tacos on Friday night.

Whether the Team Quest icon and former UFC Middleweight Champion will face new opponents, each other, or anyone at all come UFC 103 remains up in the air at this moment.

Stay tuned to FiveOuncesOfPain.com as news continues to develop!

Junior dos Santos

The heavy handed Brazilian followed up the biggest win up until that point in his career with another knockout in the Octagon, this time over Stefan Struve at UFC 95, and is now poised to throw down in the most pivotal and relevant battle of his life when he faces off with Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic at UFC 103 on September 19.

According to dos Santos in a recent interview with Tatame.com, there’s not a doubt in his mind as to what his intentions will be the next time he steps into the cage; he’s looking to tuck Cro Cop in for the night as early as possible. Business as usual for the 25 year old Brazilian heavyweight kickboxing champion.

“I train a lot of Boxing, I like the striking a lot and I’ll go after another knockout,” confessed dos Santos. “What I want is the knockout. I’m training a lot of ground, a lot of Wrestling. This guy is dangerous standing, but I’m going after the knockout, as always. With the opportunity, I’ll show my ground too”

“Cigano” has no illusions as to the ultimate significance of his next bout. Mirko is recognized all around the world and an impressive win over him can do wonders for your career, just ask Gabriel Gonzaga.

“I’m facing it as a very good opportunity in my life,” said dos Santos. “Cro Cop is a guy that, if you talk about MMA, you know who he is. He’s very dangerous and famous, if not the most dangerous man in the MMA. I’m very happy with the change of opponent, this is an incredible opportunity.”

According to Franklin, the bout makes more sense than initially meets the eye.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Franklin for an exclusive interview which was featured in Extreme Fighter Magazine, and the former UFC champ made it quite clear that he still felt as if he had some serious unfinished business with Henderson left over from there back and forth brawl in January of 2009.

When asked whether or not he believed he had done enough to be awarded with the decision in his UFC 93 headlining bout with Hendo, Franklin wore his heart on his sleeve, “I do believe that I did. It’s difficult for me to accept losing a fight when really, I never ended up getting hit flush at any point in that fight where I was like “Wow”, not even when we were on the ground. The only time that he mounted any kind of damage on the ground was midway through the first round when he had me against the cage, but still, nothing really landed. Even when he had me against the cage, he couldn’t land a punch to my head so he had to resort to kneeing me in the back of the leg, and I stood up from there. From that point on, I just don’t feel that offensively he did a whole lot in that fight, and I did.

“I was very effective on the feet if you look at the punch stats. I don’t think that the judges took the amount of body shots and body kicks I was landing into consideration. At the end of the fight there was more damage inflicted on him than there was on me. He was able to take me down a couple times, but I was able to get back up. Even when I didn’t get back up he wasn’t able to advance out of my guard or improve position.

“The only damage he really did to me was from the headbutts and the eye poke.”

Even when the conversation turned to other topics, the bad taste left in his mouth from the controversial loss at the hands of Henderson had a way of spilling over.

It truly seemed like Franklin had a desire to fight Henderson for the second time more than anyone he had ever wanted to face before.

“The first fight with Anderson is a good example, and this will tie in; In the first fight with Anderson I had some things going on in my life and I wasn’t really zeroed in on that fight the way I should be, and with a fighter like Anderson, that’s not going to work,” explained Rich when asked whether or not he would like to avenge his loss to Lyoto Machida in the future. “So after the first fight there was a desire to fight him again, but the second time he just legitimately beat me. Well, he legitimately beat me both times, but even if I wanted to fabricate some excuse, I just couldn’t. The same thing goes for Lyoto. He’s a great fighter, and he beat me. I can put my head down on my pillow at night and say, ‘These are the fights that I’ve lost.’ If I don’t fight them again I’m not going to lose any sleep over it.

“However, you take a fight like the Henderson loss, where I really, truly feel like I won that fight, then that’s the one that I would definitely like to fight again.”

As we all know, Franklin has recently been granted his wish. Now it’s up to him what he does with it.

One thing is for certain though, Rich will have redemption on his mind when he climbs into the Octagon this September.

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According to an announcement made on their website, former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin has been given an opportunity to avenge a razor-thin split decision loss to Dan Henderson from this past January.

Henderson is freshly off a UFC 100 highlight reel knockout of his foil on last season’s Ultimate Fighter, Michael Bisping, while “Ace” last thrilled fans in Germany for three rounds en route to a unanimous decision over Wanderlei Silva at UFC 99.

UFC 103 will take place on September 19th in Dallas, Texas.

Other announced bouts on the card include Mike Swick fighting for welterweight title contendership against Martin Kampmann, Josh Koscheck welcoming veteran Frank Trigg back to the Octagon, and a lightweight clash between Tyson Griffin and Hermes Franca.

Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic and Sean Sherk are also reported to be in action at the event.