UFC 103 preview: No titles on the line, unknown talent featured

Franklin vs. Belfort UFC 103

The UFC does not waste time between pay-per-view events. Twenty one days after UFC 102, the UFC brings you UFC 103: Franklin vs Belfort. The event takes place at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on September 19th.

This event mirrors UFC 102 because there are no titles on the line. That being said, it does shine the spotlight on somewhat unknown talent in the mixed martial arts world. Two individuals come to mind right away, Vitor Belfort and Junior Dos Santos.

This will be Belfort's first fight in the octagon in more than four years, his last being a loss via split decision to Tito Ortiz. Though he has not been an active UFC fighter since 2005, he has been very active in other promotions. Vitor has gone 6-3 in his last nine fights out of the UFC, fighting in Pride, StrikeForce, Cage Rage and Affliction. Belfort was known in his early MMA days as one of the most intense strikers in the game, beating opponents like Tank Abbott, Marvin Eastman, Wanderlei Silva and "the Natural" Randy Couture by TKO via punches. He boasts a very good record of 18-8, but the man who will stare him in the eye from across the octagon is no chump either.

Rich "Ace" Franklin has a record of 25 wins with only four losses, two of which by the hands of Anderson Silva. The other loses were to Dan Henderson and Lyoto Machida.  It seems that, as of right now, the former middleweight champion will fight Belfort at a catch weight of 195 lbs, much like his last fight against Wanderlei Silva which ended with Franklin winning by unanimous decision. Although both do have impressive ground games, you can expect this fight to be mostly standing and striking seeing that both fighters seem to be more comfortable and more successful on their feet. 

The co-main event could bring in just as many interested onlookers as the main event, with Mirko "Cro-Cop" Filipovic taking on 8-1 powerhouse Junior Dos Santos. Dos Santos is an extremely talented striker who fights out of Team Nogueira and also carries a purple-belt in Jiu-Jitsu. Though the winner is hard to predict, the outcome seems much easier. Both could pull off a knockout at any point. Pay close attention to the extremely powerful roundhouse kicks by Mirko "Cro-Cop."

Like mentioned earlier, there are no titles on the line, but there is a welterweight number one contender spot up for grabs. That will, undoubtedly, go to the winner of the Swick vs. Kampmann contest. Mike "Quick" Swick is known for his fast knockouts but will have his work cut out against a talented and powerful Martin "the Hitman" Kampmann who has a record of 15-2.

This event will also showcase the return of Frank Trigg. Trigg, who will be going up against 14-4 Josh Kosheck, has not fought in the UFC since 2005 . Hermes Franca and Tyson Griffin will also take the octagon in a lightweight battle. The winner will definitely have a chance to become the lightweight number one contender.

Off the heels of an amazing main event at UFC 102, UFC 103 could shape up to have just as much, if not more, energy then its predecessor. Also, now you wont have to miss a minute of the action. Spike TV will be airing the preliminaries so every fight will be televised.

For more info: Check out UFC.com . Also check out Unfilteredmma.com for more mixed martial arts news, opinions and predictions.