DALLAS – Vitor Belfort made the most of his return to the UFC, knocking out Rich Franklin 3:02 into the first round to win the main event of UFC 103.
Belfort buckled Franklin with a clean left hand, then followed up with three uncontested shots on the ground before the fight was waved off.
“To be honest, my brains are still scrambled. I’m not sure exactly what happened,” said Franklin. “I have trouble with left-handed Brazilians.”
Dana White noted at the post-show press conference that Belfort would likely received the next shot at middleweight champion Anderson Silva. Belfort said that, while the two are friends, he is willing to fight anyone the company puts in front of him.
Junior Dos Santos battered an aging Mirko Cro Cop into verbal submission in the third round. Dos Santos landed power strikes from the outset of the fight that had Cro Cop reeling and timid. In the third and final frame, Dos Santos began to land knees and hard strikes, forcing Cro Cop to wave off the fight. Initially, it appeared that the Croatian legend was injured at the end of the bout; he left the cage holding his left eye.
But Dana White noted after the show that Cro Cop claimed to be fine and had to be forced to go to the hospital.
In one of the most shocking moments of the evening, British newcomer Paul “Semtex” Daley defeated top welterweight contender Martin Kampmann by TKO in the first. Daley, a noted striker, pounded Kampmann against the fence until the fight was called with Kampmann still standing. Kampmann, who protested the decision, was noticeably wobbly ten minutes after the fight.
Frank Trigg’s return to the UFC didn’t do as planned. Trigg was stopped minutes into the fight by Josh Koscheck, who once again displayed a noticeably improved striking game.
In the first bout of the evening, Tyson Griffin defeated Hermes Franca via second-round TKO. Griffin landed a powerful straight right to the jaw that dropped Franca to the mat, where Griffin followed up with a barrage of punches until the fight was called.
