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UFC 115 sold out faster than any other UFC event in history, so there was little doubt as to how excited the Vancouver fans were to have the biggest MMA promotion in the world visit their city. As soon as the fight went live on pay-per-view, you could feel how electric the building was and as usual, the fights didn't diasppoint.
Carlos Condit TKO'd Rory Mac Donald with 9 seconds left in the third round. Although a lot of fans weren't familiar with 20-year-old Mac Donald before this fight, they are now. What was great about this match-up is the fact that both fighters are very similar. They're both good strikers, but very good ground fighters too. Mac Donald took the fight to Condit from the very beginning. He more than held his own on his feet and scored with take downs in the first and second rounds. Condit is wiley and he started to come on toward the end of the second round, but Mac Donald started strong in the third. He was landing great combinations, but Condit got a take down and started attacking with vicious elbows. Condit was relelentless and absolutely dominated the third round. I probably would have given Mac Donald the first two, but the third was the most definitive of the fight, so I was starting to think Condit may have been stealing the decision. But we didn't get the chance to find out, because the referee stopped the fight with 9 seconds left as Condit continuously attacked the right eye of Mac Donald.
Ben Rothwell defeated Gilbert Yvel by unanimous decision. Maybe these aren't two of the top heavyweights in the world, but it was actually a good match-up on paper, because it had a very good chance of being a stand-up battle between to heavy hitters. Rothwell came out hard, throwing fast combinations, but Yvel loaded up and threw a couple of hard ones back. Rothwell eventually got it to the ground and mounted Yvel, but couldn't finish him off. Even worse, Rothwell looked like he may have gassed himself out. Rothwell got full mount again in the second round and started raining down elbows, but later on, Yvel reversed and landed some big shots from the top as well. Rothwell got back on top before the end of the round, though, so it was a tough one to score. Mutual fatigue took some of the luster out of the third round, but Rothwell controlled most of it. He got side control and landed several punches that Yvel couldn't really defend. With rounds 1 and 3 definitely going to Rothwell in my book, it seemed like an easy decision.
Martin Kampmann defeated Paulo Thiago by unanimous decision. Once again, good match making was on display. In this fight, you had another couple of well-rounded guys. Both are good on their feet, but both have solid ground games as well. It was an interesting one to see unfold, and although I picked Thiago in my prediction article earlier in the week, Kampmann got off to a great start. His striking was sharper and he dominated the first round, capping it with a nice submission attempt. Kampmann was great on his feet in the early stages of the second round, then took the fight down and continued to dominate. Kampmann continued to dominate in the third round and Thiago just didn't look like the same fighter that steamrolled Josh Koscheck and Mike Swick. Kampmann didn't finish him, but he ran away with the decision.
Mirko "Cro Cop" submitted Pat Barry by rear naked choke in the third round. In my mind, there was never any chance that this fight would go the distance. Both Barry and Cro Cop are known for their kick boxing and they're both known for having devastating power. I picked Barry in my prediction article, simply because he's been on a tear, while Cro Cop seems to have lost a couple of steps. Regardless, it seemed destined to be a classic. Barry began attacking Cro Cop's lead right leg immediately with kicks to the inside and outside. Twice in the first half of the first round, Barry put Cro Cop on his but with a punch. Cro Cop threw Barry later in the round, but he got back up and they both started laughing. They hugged at center-cage, but commenced trying to take each others heads off right afterward. Barry slipped while throwing a kick in the second round and Cro Cop tried to capitalize on the ground. He got mount, then got Barry's back with over a minute left in the round. Barry survived, though, and they went on to the third. Cro Cop seemed to pick up some speed as Barry looked like he was out of gas. Cro Cop hurt him with a punch and landed over 20 unanswered strikes to the head of Barry. The ref didn't stop it, though, and Cro Cop surprised Barry by quickly switching to a rear naked choke and forced him to tap before time expired.
Rich Franklin KO'd Chuck Liddell in the first round. It's fair to call both of these guys legends, but Liddell is certainly in a different league. That being said, he's found the going tough for the last couple of years, but came into this fight with over a year of rest and supposedly, a new approach to life and training. One thing that everyone know is that Franklin shows up in great shape for every fight, so he would be game. It was pretty much stand-up only in the beginning. Both guys were throwing a lot and Liddell seemed to have addes some variety to his striking. He actually shot and took Franklin down at one point, but they got back up and Liddell landed some big shots before Franklin connected with a right that came when he was off balance. Liddell dropped like a rock, which is something we've unfortunately seen too many times. The fight was over and most likely, so was Chuck Liddell's career.
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