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UFC 72 "VICTORY" RESULTS
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UFC 72 "Victory"
From Odyssey Arena, Northern Ireland
June 16, 2007
Chat in our forums about UFC 72 (link opens in new window)
QUICK MATCH RESULTS
-Dustin Hazelett def. Steve Lynch via Submission (anaconda choke) at 2:50 of Round 1.
-Eddie Sanchez def. Colin Robinson via TKO (strikes) at 0:32 of Round 2.
-Marcus Davis def. Jason Tan via TKO (strikes) at 1:15 of Round 1.
-Ed Herman def. Scott Smith via Submission (rear naked choke) at 2:25 of Round 2.
-Tyson Griffin def. Clay Guida via Split Decision (29-28 Griffin, 29-28 Guida, 29-28 Griffin) after 3 Rounds.
-Jason MacDonald def. Rory Singer via TKO (strikes) at 3:18 of Round 2.
-Forrest Griffin def. Hector Ramirez via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after 3 Rounds.
-Rich Franklin def. Yushin Okami via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after 3 Rounds.
PRELIM FIGHTS
Fight #1:
-Dustin Hazelett vs. Stevie Lynch
Round 1: The two start off feeling each other out briefly until Hazelett catches Lynch and stuns him. Hazelett bull-rushes Lynch down to the ground and slaps on an anaconda choke to seal the deal.
Dustin Hazelett def. Steve Lynch via Submission (anaconda choke) at 2:50 of Round 1.
Fight #2:
-Eddie Sanchez vs. Colin Robinson
Round 1: Good first round. Robinson hurt Sanchez and almost finished him with gound and pound. Sanchez would reverse however and ride the round out.
Round 2: Robinson still looks tired here in the second. Sanchez takes him down with ease and finishes him with strikes from the mount.
Eddie Sanchez def. Colin Robinson via TKO (strikes) at 0:32 of Round 2.
Fight #3:
-Marcus Davis vs. Jason Tan
Round 1: Quick fight. Tan opened the round working the leg kicks, but Davis took over with his hand attack. A left-right combo drops Tan and he follows up to pound away at an already unconscious Tan for the victory.
Marcus Davis def. Jason Tan via TKO (strikes) at 1:15 of Round 1.
PPV FIGHTS
Fight #4:
-Ed Herman vs. Scott Smith
Round 1: Herman immediately shoots in and takes Smith down to open the round. He works some ground and pound before the two scramble and Smith gets back to his feet. Herman muscles him against the cage with an over-under. Smith turns and throws a big punch but it only brushes Herman. Herman starts working vicious thai-knees from the clinch. Herman slams Smith down and is working elbows and punches from the guard. Two and a half left in the round and Herman is still working elbows and punches from the guard. Huge elbow from Herman and Smith is bleeding very bad. Very bad. Herman turns it on more sensing the finish. There is blood everywhere. Ref is stopping to check the cut and says they'll return to same position if the fight continues. We get a replay and it was a nasty elbow that caused the cut. We return with Herman in Smith's guard. Herman working for a kimura but lets go and elbows instead. In a scramble Herman goes for Smith's back but Smith winds up on top pounding down on Herman. He grabs a leg and sinches in a kneebar. Herman is working one too. Herman scrambles across and is on Smith's back landing punches. He's working to get Smith's back with ten seconds left. Smith rolls him over his back and the round ends. Great round, 10-9 Herman.
Round 2: After getting advice from Rampage and Brandon Vera in his corner, Smith is cleaned up from the blood and ready to go in round two. The two touch gloves and we're off. Herman with a jab. Herman shoots but Smith sprawls and slaps on a guillotine. Herman presses him up against the cage still in the guillotine. He's got an arm in so he should be alright. Herman takes him down but still in a guillotine, Smith puts on the full guard to tighten it up. Smith is working to finish here but Herman pops out. Crowd is pro-Herman or just thought that was awesome, because they exploded when he got out. Herman on top pounding down big elbows again. Smith is bleeding quite a bit again. Herman landing very clean elbows and punches. Smith scrambling but gives his back up. Herman gets the rear naked choke and Smith quickly taps out.
Ed Herman def. Scott Smith via Submission (rear naked choke) at 2:25 of Round 2.
Fight #5:
-Tyson Griffin vs. Clay Guida
Round 1: Good first round. A lot of wrestling and positioning early on. Griffin seeming to be the stronger and more technical of the two. Tyson works for a guillotine for quite a while, slowly but surely sinking it more and more. Guida eventually pops out. The two scramble around some more and in a big combo, Tyson seemed to get rocked a little. From there, Tyson controlled the rest of the round - peppering Guida with a wide variety of strikes. He almost hurt him near the end of the round, but Guida immediately shot in and tried changing things up. The round ends with Griffin doing a crazy spin-move to improve position. 10-9 Griffin.
Round 2: What an amazing round. These two were all over the place and doing stuff I've never seen from every position. Too hard to describe all the exchanges, near-submissions and incredible position changes in the 60 seconds I have between rounds to update you. What a great round. Hard to score too, unlike the first which was exciting but definitely Griffin's.
Round 3: Another amazing round. This one definitely seemed to be Guida's. Relentless pressure from Guida, on top for most of the round. When the round was coming to a close, Guida literally threw everything at Griffin he had to try and steal the fight. Close fight, I've got it 2-1 for Griffin, but I won't be sour no matter who wins (depending on the scores).
Tyson Griffin def. Clay Guida via Split Decision (29-28 Griffin, 29-28 Guida, 29-28 Griffin) after 3 Rounds.
Fight #6:
-Jason MacDonald vs. Rory Singer
Round 1: Awesome first round, easily Rory Singer's. Could even go 10-8 there were a ton of near finishes. I'll go 10-9 though. Singer dominated every aspect of the fight for the first round mostly. Had some submissions like a triangle at the end of the round that looked to be a problem. We head into round two now.
Round 2: I missed the first minute or so, but MacDonald was in Singer's guard. Singer was doing a good job of controlling MacDonald from the bottom, enough to avoid damage. MacDonald eventually gained mount and pounded with vicious elbows and punches. Singer did nothing but cover up and after one too-many, the referee jumped in and stopped the fight.
Jason MacDonald def. Rory Singer via TKO (strikes) at 3:18 of Round 2.
Fight #7:
-Forrest Griffin vs. Hector Ramirez
Round 1: Fight hits the ground early with Ramirez on top and in side mount. Griffin gets his guard back and Ramirez is pounding down. The two scramble back to their feet and we're standing again. Forrest working the kicks, brushes a high kick off Ramirez's head. Nice leg kick from Forrest. Forrest using a lot of kicks. Forrest caught with an uppercut and short hook from Ramirez, but isn't phased. Forrest back to working the leg kicks. Ramirez with a stiff jab. Ramirez bombs in and seems to hurt Forrest a bit with hooks. Forrest bull-rushes in with some knees. Forrest is cut under the right eye. He's working the leg kicks again and follows up with a big right that glances. Ramirez swinging wildly to come in but doesn't land anything. Crowd is doing an enormous "oolaaay" chant. Forrest with a head kick that's blocked. Good right hand from Forrest. Ramirez misses a high kick of his own. Big "Forrest, Forrest" chant from the crowd. One minute left in the round. Ramirez misses with an uppercut. Forrest with a left-high kick, right-leg kick combo. Stiff jab from Forrest followed by an inside leg kick. Another good leg kick from Forrest. Ramirez misses a sloppy high kick. Round is over. 10-9 Forrest.
Round 2: Couture gives Forrest advice in his corner while Rampage gives Ramirez advice in his. Each guy has a champ in their corner. Round two is underway. Leg kick from Forrest to start the round. Forrest with a big knee. The two are in the clinch muscling each other around. Good knees to the body from Forrest. The two seperate and Forrest misses a big right hand. Good leg kick by Forrest. High kick from Forrest misses. Good right hand by Forrest hits the mark. Not a lot going on as we're about two minutes into the round now. Forrest keeping the distance with good foot work and landing the occasional leg kick or right hand. Pace is slowing down here in the middle of the second. Ramirez seems to be showing the effects of the leg kick work from Forrest. Forrest with a nice kick-punch combo. Crowd chanting Forrest's name again. Forrest hurts Ramirez with an uppercut and he's throwing a lot of combos trying to finish. He backs off and it appears Ramirez caught one on the berries. Ref giving him up to five minutes to recover. And the action resumes, a little over a minute left. The two exchange, nothing much landing. Ramirez with a big overhand right that misses. Forrest working the leg kicks again. Ramirez catches a leg kick but doesn't land the counter-punch. Good right hand from Forrest. Inside leg kick from Forrest. Forrest is all kicks here tonight. Ramirez catches a leg again but misses the punch. Ramirez lands a decent punch as the round ends. 10-9 Forrest.
Round 3: Forrest turning it on here early in the third, but avoids staying in range to be hit back. He's picking his shots and they're landing well. Ramirez telling his corner between rounds he's having trouble putting weight on his legs, as I noticed earlier. Ramirez bulls in for a takedown and gets it, but Forrest wall-walks right back up ala Chuck Liddell. He's working knees to the body in the clinch now and the two seperate. He's working the leg kicks again. Three and a half left to go in the final round. "Oooolaaay" chant from the crowd again. Forrest putting the hands together in combo now and the work is paying off. He's throwing a lot of body kicks now, some finding the mark. He's dropping his hands after his combos though, and Ramirez seems to be noticing it, lunging big punches wildly. More leg kicks from Forrest. The two each eat a jab simaltaneously. Ramirez having trouble hiding the pain in his legs and Forrest is capitalizing with more leg kicks. Two minutes left and Forrest lands a nice uppercut, but just steps back and admires his work. Ramirez with a big overhand right that brushes off Forrest's face. Good body punch from Ramirez and he's flurrying. He backs up and works the jab and leg kicks some more. Looked to be going for a jumping knee but backs off. Ramirez misses a big overhand right and Forrest lands a nice leg kick. High kick misses by Forrest. Superman punch and a combo from Forrest scores. 20 seconds left and Forrest is about to have a successful comeback from the Keith Jardine loss. Big head kick from Forrest as the horn sounds. 10-9 Forrest, this should be 30-27 across the board.
Forrest Griffin def. Hector Ramirez via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after 3 Rounds.
Fight #8:
-Rich Franklin vs. Yushin Okami
Round 1: Very uneventful first minute and a half so far. Okami is back-peddaling the whole time and Franklin isn't doing much to trap him or pressure him. He's landing a shot here and there and backing off himself. We're two minutes into the round now and the crowd is starting to let them hear it a bit. Two minutes left in the round and there's not much more to talk about here. We're in a clinch up against the cage now with Franklin throwing weak knees to each side of Okami's body. Very conservative fight from both guys so far. Ref breaks them and we're back on the feet with Franklin landing a solid leg kick. Another good leg kick from Franklin about thirty seconds later (nothing else to mention). Okami misses a wide hook. Franklin charges in with a combo, nothing landing. A lot of circling and posing. Another good leg kick from Franklin. Round ends. 10-9 Franklin. Boring round.
Round 2: "He's not that strong" says Franklin between rounds. That's the most entertaining thing about this fight so far. Round two begins. Pace feels the same so far already, crowd is already boo'ing expecting much of the same. Leg kick from Franklin. Franklin misses with a left. Stiff jab from Franklin. Another leg kick from Franklin. Again a lot of circling and pawing. Everytime Franklin engages, Okami backs up and avoids the punches. Franklin misses with a home run leg-kick. Okami finally moving forward for the first time in the fight really. Leg kick from Franklin. Leg kick from Okami. Franklin lands a decent punch during an exchange. Okami grabs Franklin looking for a takedown but Franklin is defending nicely. Franklin with double-underhooks, pushes Okami up against the cage. Crowd is boo'ing heavily again. Even if this fight was good people would say this PPV sucked, a bad fight here only guarantees that kind of feedback. Referee seperates the two. Two minutes left in the round as Franklin lands a jab. Leg kick from Franklin. Okami misses with a stiff one-two combo. Big right from Okami stuns Franklin momentarily, no reaction from the crowd or announcers despite it being the only real crucial blow of the fight. Thirty seconds left in the round. Franklin lands an overhand left followed by a right jab. Ten seconds left and Franklin misses a head kick. Crowd is boo'ing loud again. Franklin lands a good punch to end the round to a chorus of boo's.
Round 3: They're talking broken hand all in between rounds for Rich Franklin. Well, the announcers are. A replay shows Franklin landing a punch and then shaking his hand and looking at it. Round three is underway. Franklin catches an Okami leg but does nothing with it. He seemed to be looking for a takedown, which would make sense if his hand is broken. Solid leg kick from Franklin. Body punch from Franklin. Crowd is boo'ing heavy already. Body kick from Franklin hits the target. The two clinch again and Okami is looking for knees to the body. Okami gets a takedown and is in side mount on top of Franklin. Okami is looking to mount, but Franklin is defending. Franklin holding on, Okami punching his way into full mount. He's got full mount now, three minutes left in this the final round. Franklin gets a leg in, so Okami doesn't have full mount anymore. Okami is punching from the top again, landing effective strikes. Okami stacks up to land a punch with some steam on it. Franklin scrambles and Okami slaps on a guillotine. Franklin stands up, still in a guillotine. Okami pulls guard, still has the guillotine on. Franklin escapes and is on top of Okami against the fence. A minute and a half remaining. Okami wall-walks and Franklin suplexes him down. Okami up again and Franklin is looking to take Okami's back. The two are up against the fence and Okami has a kimura attempt which brings the fight to the floor again. He's getting control of the arm and is switching to an oma plata which rolls Franklin over. Okami is on top now and might be able to switch to an armbar. 45 seconds left and Okami still has control of the arm. He's twisting the arm around but Franklin escapes and is standing over Okami throwing down punches. Franklin on top in half guard with ten seconds left. Round ends. I'd go 10-9 Okami here most likely, but still Franklin's fight.
Rich Franklin def. Yushin Okami via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after 3 Rounds.
MMANEWS.COM Bookmark Us Contact Us
UFC 72 "Victory"
From Odyssey Arena, Northern Ireland
June 16, 2007
Chat in our forums about UFC 72 (link opens in new window)
QUICK MATCH RESULTS
-Dustin Hazelett def. Steve Lynch via Submission (anaconda choke) at 2:50 of Round 1.
-Eddie Sanchez def. Colin Robinson via TKO (strikes) at 0:32 of Round 2.
-Marcus Davis def. Jason Tan via TKO (strikes) at 1:15 of Round 1.
-Ed Herman def. Scott Smith via Submission (rear naked choke) at 2:25 of Round 2.
-Tyson Griffin def. Clay Guida via Split Decision (29-28 Griffin, 29-28 Guida, 29-28 Griffin) after 3 Rounds.
-Jason MacDonald def. Rory Singer via TKO (strikes) at 3:18 of Round 2.
-Forrest Griffin def. Hector Ramirez via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after 3 Rounds.
-Rich Franklin def. Yushin Okami via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after 3 Rounds.
PRELIM FIGHTS
Fight #1:
-Dustin Hazelett vs. Stevie Lynch
Round 1: The two start off feeling each other out briefly until Hazelett catches Lynch and stuns him. Hazelett bull-rushes Lynch down to the ground and slaps on an anaconda choke to seal the deal.
Dustin Hazelett def. Steve Lynch via Submission (anaconda choke) at 2:50 of Round 1.
Fight #2:
-Eddie Sanchez vs. Colin Robinson
Round 1: Good first round. Robinson hurt Sanchez and almost finished him with gound and pound. Sanchez would reverse however and ride the round out.
Round 2: Robinson still looks tired here in the second. Sanchez takes him down with ease and finishes him with strikes from the mount.
Eddie Sanchez def. Colin Robinson via TKO (strikes) at 0:32 of Round 2.
Fight #3:
-Marcus Davis vs. Jason Tan
Round 1: Quick fight. Tan opened the round working the leg kicks, but Davis took over with his hand attack. A left-right combo drops Tan and he follows up to pound away at an already unconscious Tan for the victory.
Marcus Davis def. Jason Tan via TKO (strikes) at 1:15 of Round 1.
PPV FIGHTS
Fight #4:
-Ed Herman vs. Scott Smith
Round 1: Herman immediately shoots in and takes Smith down to open the round. He works some ground and pound before the two scramble and Smith gets back to his feet. Herman muscles him against the cage with an over-under. Smith turns and throws a big punch but it only brushes Herman. Herman starts working vicious thai-knees from the clinch. Herman slams Smith down and is working elbows and punches from the guard. Two and a half left in the round and Herman is still working elbows and punches from the guard. Huge elbow from Herman and Smith is bleeding very bad. Very bad. Herman turns it on more sensing the finish. There is blood everywhere. Ref is stopping to check the cut and says they'll return to same position if the fight continues. We get a replay and it was a nasty elbow that caused the cut. We return with Herman in Smith's guard. Herman working for a kimura but lets go and elbows instead. In a scramble Herman goes for Smith's back but Smith winds up on top pounding down on Herman. He grabs a leg and sinches in a kneebar. Herman is working one too. Herman scrambles across and is on Smith's back landing punches. He's working to get Smith's back with ten seconds left. Smith rolls him over his back and the round ends. Great round, 10-9 Herman.
Round 2: After getting advice from Rampage and Brandon Vera in his corner, Smith is cleaned up from the blood and ready to go in round two. The two touch gloves and we're off. Herman with a jab. Herman shoots but Smith sprawls and slaps on a guillotine. Herman presses him up against the cage still in the guillotine. He's got an arm in so he should be alright. Herman takes him down but still in a guillotine, Smith puts on the full guard to tighten it up. Smith is working to finish here but Herman pops out. Crowd is pro-Herman or just thought that was awesome, because they exploded when he got out. Herman on top pounding down big elbows again. Smith is bleeding quite a bit again. Herman landing very clean elbows and punches. Smith scrambling but gives his back up. Herman gets the rear naked choke and Smith quickly taps out.
Ed Herman def. Scott Smith via Submission (rear naked choke) at 2:25 of Round 2.
Fight #5:
-Tyson Griffin vs. Clay Guida
Round 1: Good first round. A lot of wrestling and positioning early on. Griffin seeming to be the stronger and more technical of the two. Tyson works for a guillotine for quite a while, slowly but surely sinking it more and more. Guida eventually pops out. The two scramble around some more and in a big combo, Tyson seemed to get rocked a little. From there, Tyson controlled the rest of the round - peppering Guida with a wide variety of strikes. He almost hurt him near the end of the round, but Guida immediately shot in and tried changing things up. The round ends with Griffin doing a crazy spin-move to improve position. 10-9 Griffin.
Round 2: What an amazing round. These two were all over the place and doing stuff I've never seen from every position. Too hard to describe all the exchanges, near-submissions and incredible position changes in the 60 seconds I have between rounds to update you. What a great round. Hard to score too, unlike the first which was exciting but definitely Griffin's.
Round 3: Another amazing round. This one definitely seemed to be Guida's. Relentless pressure from Guida, on top for most of the round. When the round was coming to a close, Guida literally threw everything at Griffin he had to try and steal the fight. Close fight, I've got it 2-1 for Griffin, but I won't be sour no matter who wins (depending on the scores).
Tyson Griffin def. Clay Guida via Split Decision (29-28 Griffin, 29-28 Guida, 29-28 Griffin) after 3 Rounds.
Fight #6:
-Jason MacDonald vs. Rory Singer
Round 1: Awesome first round, easily Rory Singer's. Could even go 10-8 there were a ton of near finishes. I'll go 10-9 though. Singer dominated every aspect of the fight for the first round mostly. Had some submissions like a triangle at the end of the round that looked to be a problem. We head into round two now.
Round 2: I missed the first minute or so, but MacDonald was in Singer's guard. Singer was doing a good job of controlling MacDonald from the bottom, enough to avoid damage. MacDonald eventually gained mount and pounded with vicious elbows and punches. Singer did nothing but cover up and after one too-many, the referee jumped in and stopped the fight.
Jason MacDonald def. Rory Singer via TKO (strikes) at 3:18 of Round 2.
Fight #7:
-Forrest Griffin vs. Hector Ramirez
Round 1: Fight hits the ground early with Ramirez on top and in side mount. Griffin gets his guard back and Ramirez is pounding down. The two scramble back to their feet and we're standing again. Forrest working the kicks, brushes a high kick off Ramirez's head. Nice leg kick from Forrest. Forrest using a lot of kicks. Forrest caught with an uppercut and short hook from Ramirez, but isn't phased. Forrest back to working the leg kicks. Ramirez with a stiff jab. Ramirez bombs in and seems to hurt Forrest a bit with hooks. Forrest bull-rushes in with some knees. Forrest is cut under the right eye. He's working the leg kicks again and follows up with a big right that glances. Ramirez swinging wildly to come in but doesn't land anything. Crowd is doing an enormous "oolaaay" chant. Forrest with a head kick that's blocked. Good right hand from Forrest. Ramirez misses a high kick of his own. Big "Forrest, Forrest" chant from the crowd. One minute left in the round. Ramirez misses with an uppercut. Forrest with a left-high kick, right-leg kick combo. Stiff jab from Forrest followed by an inside leg kick. Another good leg kick from Forrest. Ramirez misses a sloppy high kick. Round is over. 10-9 Forrest.
Round 2: Couture gives Forrest advice in his corner while Rampage gives Ramirez advice in his. Each guy has a champ in their corner. Round two is underway. Leg kick from Forrest to start the round. Forrest with a big knee. The two are in the clinch muscling each other around. Good knees to the body from Forrest. The two seperate and Forrest misses a big right hand. Good leg kick by Forrest. High kick from Forrest misses. Good right hand by Forrest hits the mark. Not a lot going on as we're about two minutes into the round now. Forrest keeping the distance with good foot work and landing the occasional leg kick or right hand. Pace is slowing down here in the middle of the second. Ramirez seems to be showing the effects of the leg kick work from Forrest. Forrest with a nice kick-punch combo. Crowd chanting Forrest's name again. Forrest hurts Ramirez with an uppercut and he's throwing a lot of combos trying to finish. He backs off and it appears Ramirez caught one on the berries. Ref giving him up to five minutes to recover. And the action resumes, a little over a minute left. The two exchange, nothing much landing. Ramirez with a big overhand right that misses. Forrest working the leg kicks again. Ramirez catches a leg kick but doesn't land the counter-punch. Good right hand from Forrest. Inside leg kick from Forrest. Forrest is all kicks here tonight. Ramirez catches a leg again but misses the punch. Ramirez lands a decent punch as the round ends. 10-9 Forrest.
Round 3: Forrest turning it on here early in the third, but avoids staying in range to be hit back. He's picking his shots and they're landing well. Ramirez telling his corner between rounds he's having trouble putting weight on his legs, as I noticed earlier. Ramirez bulls in for a takedown and gets it, but Forrest wall-walks right back up ala Chuck Liddell. He's working knees to the body in the clinch now and the two seperate. He's working the leg kicks again. Three and a half left to go in the final round. "Oooolaaay" chant from the crowd again. Forrest putting the hands together in combo now and the work is paying off. He's throwing a lot of body kicks now, some finding the mark. He's dropping his hands after his combos though, and Ramirez seems to be noticing it, lunging big punches wildly. More leg kicks from Forrest. The two each eat a jab simaltaneously. Ramirez having trouble hiding the pain in his legs and Forrest is capitalizing with more leg kicks. Two minutes left and Forrest lands a nice uppercut, but just steps back and admires his work. Ramirez with a big overhand right that brushes off Forrest's face. Good body punch from Ramirez and he's flurrying. He backs up and works the jab and leg kicks some more. Looked to be going for a jumping knee but backs off. Ramirez misses a big overhand right and Forrest lands a nice leg kick. High kick misses by Forrest. Superman punch and a combo from Forrest scores. 20 seconds left and Forrest is about to have a successful comeback from the Keith Jardine loss. Big head kick from Forrest as the horn sounds. 10-9 Forrest, this should be 30-27 across the board.
Forrest Griffin def. Hector Ramirez via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after 3 Rounds.
Fight #8:
-Rich Franklin vs. Yushin Okami
Round 1: Very uneventful first minute and a half so far. Okami is back-peddaling the whole time and Franklin isn't doing much to trap him or pressure him. He's landing a shot here and there and backing off himself. We're two minutes into the round now and the crowd is starting to let them hear it a bit. Two minutes left in the round and there's not much more to talk about here. We're in a clinch up against the cage now with Franklin throwing weak knees to each side of Okami's body. Very conservative fight from both guys so far. Ref breaks them and we're back on the feet with Franklin landing a solid leg kick. Another good leg kick from Franklin about thirty seconds later (nothing else to mention). Okami misses a wide hook. Franklin charges in with a combo, nothing landing. A lot of circling and posing. Another good leg kick from Franklin. Round ends. 10-9 Franklin. Boring round.
Round 2: "He's not that strong" says Franklin between rounds. That's the most entertaining thing about this fight so far. Round two begins. Pace feels the same so far already, crowd is already boo'ing expecting much of the same. Leg kick from Franklin. Franklin misses with a left. Stiff jab from Franklin. Another leg kick from Franklin. Again a lot of circling and pawing. Everytime Franklin engages, Okami backs up and avoids the punches. Franklin misses with a home run leg-kick. Okami finally moving forward for the first time in the fight really. Leg kick from Franklin. Leg kick from Okami. Franklin lands a decent punch during an exchange. Okami grabs Franklin looking for a takedown but Franklin is defending nicely. Franklin with double-underhooks, pushes Okami up against the cage. Crowd is boo'ing heavily again. Even if this fight was good people would say this PPV sucked, a bad fight here only guarantees that kind of feedback. Referee seperates the two. Two minutes left in the round as Franklin lands a jab. Leg kick from Franklin. Okami misses with a stiff one-two combo. Big right from Okami stuns Franklin momentarily, no reaction from the crowd or announcers despite it being the only real crucial blow of the fight. Thirty seconds left in the round. Franklin lands an overhand left followed by a right jab. Ten seconds left and Franklin misses a head kick. Crowd is boo'ing loud again. Franklin lands a good punch to end the round to a chorus of boo's.
Round 3: They're talking broken hand all in between rounds for Rich Franklin. Well, the announcers are. A replay shows Franklin landing a punch and then shaking his hand and looking at it. Round three is underway. Franklin catches an Okami leg but does nothing with it. He seemed to be looking for a takedown, which would make sense if his hand is broken. Solid leg kick from Franklin. Body punch from Franklin. Crowd is boo'ing heavy already. Body kick from Franklin hits the target. The two clinch again and Okami is looking for knees to the body. Okami gets a takedown and is in side mount on top of Franklin. Okami is looking to mount, but Franklin is defending. Franklin holding on, Okami punching his way into full mount. He's got full mount now, three minutes left in this the final round. Franklin gets a leg in, so Okami doesn't have full mount anymore. Okami is punching from the top again, landing effective strikes. Okami stacks up to land a punch with some steam on it. Franklin scrambles and Okami slaps on a guillotine. Franklin stands up, still in a guillotine. Okami pulls guard, still has the guillotine on. Franklin escapes and is on top of Okami against the fence. A minute and a half remaining. Okami wall-walks and Franklin suplexes him down. Okami up again and Franklin is looking to take Okami's back. The two are up against the fence and Okami has a kimura attempt which brings the fight to the floor again. He's getting control of the arm and is switching to an oma plata which rolls Franklin over. Okami is on top now and might be able to switch to an armbar. 45 seconds left and Okami still has control of the arm. He's twisting the arm around but Franklin escapes and is standing over Okami throwing down punches. Franklin on top in half guard with ten seconds left. Round ends. I'd go 10-9 Okami here most likely, but still Franklin's fight.
Rich Franklin def. Yushin Okami via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after 3 Rounds.
