In a fight that saw Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell return to the octagon, it would possibly have been his last as first round knockout by Rich “Ace” Franklin saw Chuck being fairly heavily attended afterwards.

With a broken left arm but an unyielding will to win, Rich Franklin scored perhaps the most important victory since he took the middleweight in 2005. How hardcore you need to be to still give and take beatings with a broken arm? Its happened before to Franklin, but he’s given the nickname “Ace” for a reason. Watching the fight, it was pretty good, both fighters landing punches and kicks low and high, one kick by Chuck hard enough to break an arm! The knockout punch was a surprise hit, Chuck seemed to be in little bit more control at the time having Franklin slightly against the cage, though a right arm uppercut to “The Iceman’s” jaw laid the professional out cold.
Though my prediction was right, it is never an easy thing having to see someone in that sort of balance where they want to prove people wrong, though at the same time has to been seen as a retirement fight. had the fight between Chuck and Tito happened, it may have been a different story, but either way whatever fight he had Chuck Liddell was going in knowing a loss could/would deem retirement, and unfortunately the outcome was indeed a loss.
With the win, Franklin improves to 28-5 with 1 NC; Liddell, who has now lost five of his last six bouts, falls to 21-8.

In the main card fights, Mirko Cro Cop vs Pat Barry went surprisingly through all three rounds, and even ended in an unlikely way, with Mirko Cro Cop submitting his opponent via rear naked choke. It was a memorable heavyweight scrap with “HD” Barry swelling Cro Cops face 40 seconds in the first round, even knocking him down at one point. But the Croatian got right back up and remained in the pocket with Barry picking his shots. The crowd were wild for this won, leaving huge roars. Second round and Cro Cop along with his trademark kicks took it to the ground, briefly even getting mount position and seemingly went for a choke at one point too. In the end a unlikely rear naked choke did happen, something you’d hardly see of Mirko regards to submissions as the stocked powerhouse is more a stand/striking fighter. Good fight in the end.
With the win, Cro Cop improves to 27-7-2 with 1 NC; Barry falls to 5-2.

Regards to Paulo Thiago vs Martin Kampmann, it may not have been the most explosive performance of Martin Kampmann’s career, but it was certainly one of the welterweight contender’s most dominating and impressive ones, as he outpointed Paulo Thiago unanimously over three rounds (30-27 from all three judges). Kampmann’s punches were pinpoint constantly in the first round, visible and crisp, with at one point knocking Thiago down with a right hand. Though Thiago used the mat to even up the scores for himself, “The Hitman” Kampmann was cool throughout the first round. Round 2 was much of the same tactics, Kampmann continued to keep Thiago under control with stiff punches, solid takedown defense, and effective groundwork when the bout did hit the mat. Thiago remained game, working for Kampmann’s arm for a good portion of the round, but it was the Denmark native who finished stronger thanks to some close range knees.
Thiago swung for the fences as the final round began, but Kampmann wasn’t buying, and he was able to get the Brazilian to the ground and against the fence shortly after the miss. After some more dominant ground work, Thiago got back to his feet, but only for a moment, as Kampmann got him back down and looked for the arm triangle. Amazingly, Thiago survived the assault until the bell, but there was no question who the winner was. Kampmann improves to 17-3; Thiago falls to 13-2.

Ben Rothwell vs Gilbert Yvel was not pretty, especially with the second round seeing some dicey moments, but in the end Ben Rothwell picked his first first victory in the UFC via unanimous decision.
Rothwell stunned Yvel at the bell with a right hand and a follow-up barrage that drove ‘The Hurricane’ into the cage. Yvel shook off the blows and the bout soon drifted to the mat, where Rothwell eventually got into side control. After some ground strikes, Yvel scrambled up, but then found himself back down and mounted against the fence. Yvel stayed active and even looked for a heel hook, but Rothwell’s size and strength was proving troublesome as he got pinned. With a minute left, he got to his feet and landed with hard shots on the Wisconsinite, but he was unable to hurt or finish his foe before time ran out on the round.
The fight took straight to the mat in the second round again, Rothwell’s ground and pound continued to pile up the points. Yvel was able to stand just before the midway point, but not for long, as Rothwell took him back down. This time though, Yvel found an escape route and got in the top position, where he began dealing out his own punishment. After some dicey moments, Rothwell escaped and regained top position, ending the round in the mount position.
Yvel shot for a takedown to open the final round, but wound up on his back, with Rothwell in side control. Unfortunately for Yvel, that’s where the rest of the round played out, with Rothwell effective, but not particularly exciting as he methodically sailed to victory.
With the win, Rothwell improves to 31-7; Yvel falls to 36-15-1 with 1 NC.

Finally from two fighters I didn’t know, ended up being fight of the night; Carlos Condit vs Rory MacDonald took a tense finishing leaving the crowd booing that it had it ended 7 seconds of round three left. It was full of excitement however for the welterweights which left Condit the victor, fans remembering out of that much though the toughness Rory “The Water Boy” MacDonald showed.
It was tough to separate the two welterweights in the opening round, as each had his moments, both standing and on the mat. MacDonald may have earned an edge thanks to his takedowns, but Condit was far from idle in the bottom position, as he tried to bully the youngster with elbows and punches in a hard-fought and fast-paced five minute period.
There was no let up in round two, and just when Condit looked like he was going to put MacDonald in a precarious spot in the second minute, MacDonald reversed position and got in the former WEC champion’s guard. After standing, the two continued to scrap as the crowd erupted into chants of ‘Let’s go Rory’, and while Condit seemed to get the better of the standup throughout the rest of the round, a right kick to the chest by MacDonald sent him to the mat at the bell.
Blood coming from his nose, MacDonald ignored the crimson and the fatigue as round three opened, marching forward while throwing bombs at Condit. Condit, not surprisingly, was cool under pressure, and he was soon able to get the bout to the mat, where he opened up with hard strikes from the top. The resilient MacDonald, with swelling coming up around his right eye, got to his feet, but Condit put him on his back again and opened up as referee Kevin Dornan watched the action closely. MacDonald wouldn’t give in, but Condit was beginning to pull away, and after a barrage of shots, Dornan stepped in and halted the bout at the 4:53 mark.
With the win, Condit improves to 25-5; MacDonald falls to 10-1. Had the fight lasted the last 7 seconds however, MacDonald led 20-18 on two judges’ scorecards, with judge Doc Hamilton seeing the fight even, 19-19, after two rounds.

Another great PPV at the end of the day, four out of five predictions right as well. Not bad RamZ, not bad (yes that is me complimenting myself in third person). Let us know your thoughts as always.