UFC 88: Class tells for Franklin
by Ben Blackmore, 07 September 2008
Rich Franklin dished out an absolutely world class lesson in stand-up to Matt Hamill to announce his return to the UFC light-heavyweight division - live on Setanta Sports.
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Franklin, who was once taught the finer arts of wrestling by Hamill (6-2-0), once declared 'I have no idea what I'd do if I had to fight him'.
Well, after eight weeks with genial MMA tactician Matt Hume, Franklin came up with the perfect gameplan - mixing up an array of strikes before flooring Hamill in round three with a shuddering kick to the body.
Hamill was poleaxed and referee Mario Yamasaki immediately stepped in to prevent the former middleweight champion doing more damage to his close friend.
"I thank God my opponent didn't get hurt," said the classy Franklin (26-3-0) afterwards.
Franklin was making the step up to 205, his more natural weight, and on this showing he can consider himself among the top names in the business.
After suffering an early cut under the right eyebrow, which nearly caused the fight to be stopped, it was all Franklin.
"I had a black eye before I came in here so I was happy to carry on!" quipped Franklin.
A series of leg kicks and well-timed one-two combos unsettled Hamill in round one, who waited until the last minute to shoot for the takedown, a takedown that was countered by an attempted Franklin armbar.
More leg kicks saw "The Hammer" change to a southpaw stance in round two as he protected his left leg, but that did not stop Franklin releasing a variety of combos - right, right, left and then right, left, right - always supported by a kick.
Hamill was unusually on the back foot, outclassed by his more skilful opponent, and he finally buckled in round three, a thumping kick to the midsection crippling the underdog decisively.
Dan Henderson turned on a world class example of submissions defence, but he did not produce the thrilling form he would have been hoping for as he unanimously decisioned Rousimar Palhares 30-27, 30-27, 29-28.
The MMA powerhouse relied on his years of experience when sprawling away from multiple shots by submissions monster Palhares, who nearly forced a surprise tap-out in round two.
Henderson's tactics were simple. Keep that big right hand locked and loaded, wait for Palhares to shoot, then sprawl and swing for the fences on Palhares' way back up.
Twice it worked, Henderson catching the Brazilian with two major right hands. But Palhares added something to the script...he had a chin and came back for more.
A dangerous kneebar attempt was halted by the bell, but it should have served as a warning to "Hendo", who found himself in big trouble in round two. Palhares shocked the Atlanta crowd with a slam takedown, and then locked on an ankle lock that Henderson somehow managed to limp away from.
"This opponent was just as tough as any i've faced in The UFC, he was dangerous around my legs, I didn't wanna mess around down there," Henderson (23-7-0) said afterwards.
"I was never too nervous [about the ankle lock], I knew he didn't really have it, but I didn't wanna be there.
"I apologise I wasn't as aggressive as usual."
The former PRIDE champion responded with some ground-and-pound, and then picked Palhares (17-2-0) off in a cagey third to secure his first UFC victory in a decade.
Nate "The Great" Marquardt lived up to his nickname in his heavily anticipated middleweight clash with Martin Kampmann, destroying the Dane inside the first round.
Marquardt (30-8-2) was coming off a bitter loss to Thales Leites, a fight he would have won but for two deducted points back at "UFC 85".
Pent-up frustration could well have explained the fury he unleashed on kickboxing talent Kampmann, starting with a shattering kick that buckled the knees of "The Hitman".
From there, Marquardt's variation was impressive as he terrorised his rocked opponent, backing him up against the fence with a combination of short punches and uppercuts.
Kampmann's heart was impressive, but another flurry of short elbows and body shots by Marquardt grounded the 26-year-old, forcing referee Mario Yamasaki to signal a first UFC loss for Kampmann, who drops to (10-2-0).
Judo proved the crucial factor in the opening fight of the main card, with two third-round takedowns proving decisive as Dong Hyun Kim outpointed Matt Brown.
Making only his second appearance in The UFC, Kim took a correct split decision 29-28, 28-29, 29-28 to maintain his undefeated 11-0-1 MMA record.
Round one was dominated by the Korean, who quickly secured three takedowns as Brown struggled to adapt to Kim's southpaw stance.
A deep standing rear naked choke followed as Kim took his opponent's back, and that would be how the opening round finished.
Brown (10-7-0) carved out a reputation for his relentless style on series three of "The Ultimate Fighter" though, and he appeared to have sucked the energy out of Kim in round two with a series of Muay Thai knees to the mid-section.
With both fighters taking one round apiece it all came down to the decider, and it was Kim who secured two crucial takedowns - opening up a huge cut with a late elbow from Brown's guard that did enough to convince the judges in his favour.