Head Buts and Eye Gauge...Rich Franklin Defeated

On my 1st day back in Oceanside and on one of the most beautiful (and warm) days I've seen in a long time, I went to Pizza, Wings, and Things and watched UFC 93, broadcasting live from Dublin, Ireland (1pm Cali time). One (who is one, anyway?) would ask why would I do this, and in two words Rich Franklin. But, we'll get to that match in just a bit...

The first match of UFC 93 was Marcus Davis & Chris Lytle some of the most genuine guys, and awesome fighters. Most memorable was this match was pretty much fought standing up with little take downs. Marcus (Irish guy) won by a split decision.

But, the two matches that really shocked me were the two main-card events Rua vs. Mark "The Hammer" Coleman and Dan Henderson vs. Rich Franklin.

Rua VS Coleman

For two rounds Rua just hammered in on Coleman, which is quite surprising. You've gotta understand he's a UFC Hall of famer, and PRIDE champion and got his ass handed to him during the 1st two rounds. However, the last round he came back from exhaustion, and just when it looked like his huge punches were making an impact, Rua came back with lots of punches, followed by an uppercut that knocked out the former heavyweight champion.

Franklin VS Henderson

In September 2008 Rich Franklin visited the Marines and Sailors in Bahrain and onboard USS Peleliu this summer. When I met him he is such a nice guy, he has a Masters in Education, and used to be a teacher until he started fighting MMA. Unfortunately, he lost to Dan Henderson; although Henderson accidentally head butted Franklin in the 1st round and eye gauged him late in the 3rd round. I seriously thought the judges were on crack, Franklin killed it! Alas, this was a great fight decided by split decision.

Attached are photos from the fight, but also photos from Bahrain where Rich Franklin visited us. He's got a fan for life. Oh yeah, the pink trunks are his trademark. Enjoy! BTW--yes, that is Tim Sylvia that I have the choke on.