UFC 103: dos Santos Answers the Skeptics, Franklin Proves Them Right

UFC 103 didn't hold too much allure for me for two reasons: I've never been a Rich "Ace" Franklin fan and I never took Junior dos Santos very seriously.

For Ace, my first introduction to the former Middleweight Champion was an appearance on one of the early seasons of "The Ultimate Fighter." Brought on board as a guest "celebrity" coach, he advised one of the fighters to drop to one knee whenever his opponent approached him.

I'm no mixed martial arts expert, but that seemed like some very odd advice.

One could even argue it was non-advice.

Regardless, most of my distaste for Franklin blossoms purely from his ring exploits. I don't understand why he's one of the foremost UFC darlings. I get that he once wore the Middleweight Championship belt, but it wasn't exactly during the organization's glory days.

The Ohio native first took the hardware from Evan Tanner in 2005.

With all due respect to the now-deceased Tanner, he was tough as nails and one hell of a competitor, but his talent wasn't exactly the stuff of legend inside the ring. Subsequently, Franklin defended his belt against Nate Quarry and David Loiseau; again, both good fighters, but not world-beaters.

More importantly, Anderson Silva twice demolished Ace to take the belt. All Franklin had to do to get his rematch was dispatch Jason McDonald and Yushin Okami. Furthermore, Silva-Franklin II was, for some reason, in Franklin's hometown.

Why did the challenger, who had been embarrassed in the first meeting, get the charitable digs?

Good question. (OK, dumb question—money, money, money.)

When I look over Franklin's biggest wins, I don't see any reason to get excited—Marvin Eastman, Tanner (twice), Edwin Dewees, Jorge Rivera, a punch-drunk Ken Shamrock in 2005, Quarry, Loiseau, McDonald, Okami, Travis Lutter, Matt Hamill and a one-foot-in-the-MMA-grave Wanderlei Silva. To me, that's a who's-who list of suspect TUF alumni and a couple former respectables who'd faded to almost nothing by the time they got tossed to Ace.

Sure, Franklin stopped most of those combatants and the crowd loves a good stoppage.

Hey, why not toss softballs to all the prize ponies in the stable? I'm sure you'd see a ton of stellar finishes.

Suffice it to say I was expecting (and rooting for) Vitor Belfort to storm through Franklin.

The Phenom may be less phenomenal than once thought, but his resume speaks for itself—wins over Tank Abbot (despite a severe weight disadvantage), Silva in 1998, Gilbert Yvel, Heath Herring, Eastman, Randy Couture, and Matt Lindland.

His losses may be even more impressive—Couture (twice), Kazushi Sakuraba, Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Alistair Overeem (twice) and Dan Henderson. In other words, Belfort has tested himself against some of the best the sport had to offer from several different weight classes.

A handful of tests he passed, a handful he failed, but the critical thing is that he took them.

Notwithstanding the Phenom's inconsistency, I didn't hesitate for one second before telling a buddy who'd asked about the fight that Belfort would whomp Franklin.

He didn't disappoint.

After about two-and-a-half minutes of feeling each other out, the duo met with sincere hostilities and it took Belfort about 30 seconds to leave Franklin face down, swimming in a pool of blood, saliva and murky pseudo-consciousness.

Whenever you see a belly heaving spasmodically like Ace's was, you know the lights aren't shining brightly upstairs.

Yawn. Another Franklin main event special.

I'd say hopefully the last, but I know I'm not that lucky. I can't wait for Couture-Franklin at UFC 119. Or maybe we'll see him face Forrest Griffin.

Gotta get that scratch.

Thankfully, Junior dos Santos preemptively saved the day. By the time Franklin and Belfort took the cage for the main event, UFC 103 was already a success.

I said earlier I didn't take the Brazilian heavyweight seriously. Oops.

In my defense, his only victory of note before stepping into the Octagon with Mirko Filipovic was over Fabricio Werdun. Werdun is a legitimate stud, but anyone can throw a magic punch—one win does not a career make.

Neither do two wins, but we're getting closer. Especially when the second big win is over as formidable an adversary as Cro Cop.

No doubt, the Croatian has lost a step...and a kick...and some chin.

But he's still Mirko. He's still capable of kicking you into a nice little siesta from which you'll awaken with a headache to rival the worst tequila hangovers.

Yet dos Santos came after him with almost no regard.

I don't even think the great Fedor Emelianenko stalked Cro Cop with as much ferocity during their mythical clash in '05 as dos Santos did last night. The big fella didn't seem the least big concerned by the lethal head kicks and rib-cracking body blows—and possibly testicle-rupturing groin shots—that most fans associate with the member of Croatian Parliament.

Perhaps it was because of the devastation wrought by dos Santos's own thunderous blows.

The lefts, rights and knees from the new kid on the heavyweight block had a member of the foremost Croatian anti-terrorist unit looking for safe retreat almost from the jump. Frankly, the last couple minutes of the third round (prior to the verbal submission by Filipovic) were totally unnecessary.

Credit Mirko—he clearly didn't want to give in, but the prospect of fighting anyone with impaired vision should bring to mind an old saying, "discretion is the better part of valor."

Cro Cop proved his valor before surrendering to discretion.

Again, two wins won't reserve the Brazilian bomber's spot in the UFC Hall of Fame. Not even when one is a thorough thumping of one of the greatest heavyweights MMA has ever seen.

But it sure did the trick to salvage an otherwise vanilla night for the UFC.

Junior dos Santos might not be the guy to vanquish Brock Lesnar, but it's unwise to dismiss him as a potential challenger. You might just end up looking foolish.

Trust me.

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