Tyson Griffin

UFC 103 Notes: Belfort Moves to Forefront of Middleweight Title Picture

A win over Rich Franklin was expected to make Vitor Belfort an instant contender for Anderson Silva’s UFC middleweight title. But according to UFC President Dana White, Belfort may have positioned himself as the leading candidate for Silva’s next title defense, even before Dan Henderson and Nate Marquardt.

“You know, I think he might be ready now,” White said at last night’s UFC 103 post-fight press conference.

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Belfort Beats Franklin in Return at UFC 103

Vitor Belfort’s return to the UFC was a successful one as the former UFC light heavyweight champion decked former UFC middleweight king Rich Franklin with a series of punches that resulted in a first-round TKO win for the heavy-handed Brazilian in the main event of UFC 103 on Saturday night in Dallas, Texas.

Up until the ending sequence, the bout didn’t feature much action. Belfort (19-8) and Franklin (25-5) exchanged leg kicks and short jabs, but neither put together any offense of note that landed. Things completely changed however after Belfort clipped Franklin with an overhand left during an exchange.

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UFC 103: “Franklin vs. Belfort” Live Results

We will be going live at 6:00 PM ET with live results of UFC 103: “Franklin vs. Belfort”, which will take place at a sold out American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The event’s televised main card will be broadcast live on pay-per-view starting at 10:00 PM ET. An additional hour of preliminary bouts will also be shown on Spike TV starting at 9:00 PM ET prior to that.

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort headlines the event, returning to the UFC in a 195 lb catchweight bout against former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin. A heavyweight contenders clash between formidable strikers Mirko Cro Cop and Junior Dos Santos serves as the co-main event.

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Four Bouts Announced for UFC 103 in Dallas

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has officially announced four bouts set to take place on UFC 103 which is scheduled for September 19 at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas.

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Fight Announcements: Griffin, Curran, Stann & More

The past few days following the completion of Saturday’s UFC 93 event in Ireland have brought forth a slew of potential fight announcements involving upcoming events being put on by the UFC and WEC. Let’s get right to them:

— One-time WEC featherweight title challenger and longtime veteran Jeff Curran will reportedly make his bantamweight debut against Urijah Faber-protege Joseph Benavidez at WEC 40 on April 5 according to MMA Weekly. The event, which will likely take place in Chicago, will be headlined by WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres defending his title against Brian Bowles.

— Former International Fight League standout Bart Palaszewski will reportedly take on Richard Crunkilton in a lightweight bout at WEC 39 on March 1 according to MMA Junkie, which is also stating that the winner of the bout could receive a title shot against the winner of this weekend’s upcoming lightweight title fight between current champion Jamie Varner and top contender Donald Cerrone.

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Report: Tyson Griffin to Return at UFC Fight Night 18

UFC lightweight contender and Xtreme Couture product Tyson Griffin will reportedly be returning to action at UFC Fight Night 18, which will likely take place on April 1 at a yet-to-be-announced venue in Nashville, Tennessee.

According to MMA Junkie, sources close to Griffin have confirmed that he has agreed to fight at the event and UFC officials are currently finalizing details regarding an opponent for him.

Griffin last fought at UFC 90 in October, losing a hard-fought unanimous decision to former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk. The Santa Rosa, California native had pieced together a four-fight winning streak prior to his recent loss, winning decision over the likes of Clay Guida and Marcus Aurelio.

UFC 90: Silva vs Cote Quick Results

Anderson Silva def. Patrick Cote - TKO
Thiago Alves def. Josh Koscheck - Unanimous Decision
Gray Maynard def. Rich Clementi - Unanimous Decision
Junior dos Santos def. Fabricio Werdum - KO
Sean Sherk def. Tyson Griffin - Unanimous Decision
Thales Leites def. Drew McFedries - Submission (rear naked choke)
Spencer Fisher def. Shannon Gugerty - Submission (triangle choke)
Dan Miller def. Matt Horwich - Unanimous Decision
Hermes Franca def. Marcus Aurelio - Unanimous Decision
Pete Sell def. Josh Burkman - Unanimous Decision

UFC 90: Silva vs Cote Weigh-In Results

The official weigh-in results for tomorrow night’s UFC 90: Silva vs. Cote event, which takes place at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois, are below. All fighters successfully made weight with the exception of Josh Burkman, who weighed-in two pounds over the welterweight limit. He will be given one hour to shed the extra weight.

UFC 90 is headlined by reigning middleweight champion Anderson Silva defending his title against heavy-handed contender Patrick Cote. Rising welterweight sensation Thiago Alves will look to continue his winning ways against replacement opponent Josh Koscheck in the co-main event.

Main Card:

Anderson Silva (184 lbs) vs. Patrick Cote (183 lbs)
Josh Koscheck (170 lbs) vs. Thiago Alves (171 lbs)
Fabricio Werdum (256 lbs) vs. Junior dos Santos (234 lbs)
Sean Sherk (156 lbs) vs. Tyson Griffin (155 lbs)
Rich Clementi (156 lbs) vs. Gray Maynard (155 lbs)

Preliminary Bouts:

Thales Leites (186 lbs) vs. Drew McFedries (186 lbs)
Spencer Fisher (155 lbs) vs. Shannon Gugerty (156 lbs)
Dan Miller (185 lbs) vs. Matt Horwich (186 lbs)
Hermes Franca (156 lbs) vs. Marcus Aurelio (156 lbs)
Josh Burkman (173 lbs) vs. Pete Sell (170 lbs)

Sherk and Griffin Talk Lightweight Showdown

In the above video, former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk and current rising contender Tyson Griffin discuss their upcoming showdown at this weekend’s UFC 90 event, which will take place at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois.

Sherk-Griffin Confirmed for UFC 90

Former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk will make his return to action when he takes on standout wrestler and Xtreme Couture member Tyson Griffin at UFC 90: Silva vs. Cote, which will emanate from the Allstate Arena near Chicago on October 25th.

The UFC officially announced the bout earlier today.

Sherk’s lightweight championship reign was cut short last year because of a positive test for steroids under the watch of the California State Athletic Comission. After nearly ten months of inactivity, the Minnesota native returned suffered his first loss since winning the title at the hands of current champion B.J. Penn at UFC 84 back in May.

Meanwhile Griffin has rebounded from suffering his first professional loss to Frankie Edgar last year by winning four straight fights, most recently a unanimous decision over former PRIDE standout Marcus Aurelio at UFC 86 last month. Griffin has also defeated Thiago Tavares, Clay Guida, and Gleison Tibau over the past twelve months.