Issue 093
October 2012
39
Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva had a combined 39 TKO wins during their illustrious careers when they met up at UFC 147 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
25
With about a minute left in round two it looked as if Wanderlei would score his 25th stoppage when he rocked Franklin and tried to finish. Franklin held on, and the back-and-forth fight went the entire 25 minutes with Rich claiming the decision. Both men earned ‘Fight of the Night’ honors.
$125,000
Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva have earned $125,000 in bonus money in their two scraps. Almost exactly three years before Franklin’s five-round victory at UFC 137, he claimed an exciting three-round decision over Silva in Cologne, Germany at UFC 99. That also earned ‘Fight of the Night’.
4, 7, 50th
Welterweight Brian Ebersole has four wins in a row since joining the UFC. He had a record of 46-14-1 and was riding a seven-fight ‘W’ streak before finally making his debut at UFC 127. At UFC on FX 4, Ebersole and his now-trademark chest ‘hairrow’, fought off TJ Waldburger’s early onslaught and came back to win the decision for his 50th career victory.
27
Amazing number of times Tito Ortiz fought in the UFC Octagon. The first came at UFC 13 as a rookie, the last at 148 after being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame earlier in the weekend. Ortiz lost a controversial decision to Forrest Griffin, who ran out of the cage after the fight, was chased by Dana White, and then returned and took the mic from Joe Rogan and proceeded to interview Ortiz.
3:21
Time in hours and minutes prior to the scheduled start time when fans started lining up for the UFC 148 weigh-in featuring Chael Sonnen and the champ Anderson Silva.
55
There were 55 days between subsequent events Strikeforce: Barnett vs Cormier and Strikeforce: Rockhold vs Kennedy. The long wait was worth it for Nate Marquardt and Lorenz Larkin. Marquardt made his Strikeforce and welterweight debut by winning the title belt with a brutal stoppage of Tyron Woodley. Larkin made his middleweight debut with an impressive decision over UFC veteran Robbie Lawler.
17
Number of strikes middleweight Mark Munoz received after Chris Weidman knocked him senseless with a perfectly timed elbow at UFC on Fuel 4.
4
Coming into the bout, both Munoz and Weidman had won four fights in a row in the UFC. Now Weidman has planted himself firmly in the middleweight title picture.
The Highs and Lows of DOMINICK CRUZ
From talented featherweight to dominant UFC bantamweight champion, Dominick Cruz has been high atop the mountain of the lighter weight divisions for a number of years, defeating a who’s who of contenders and also coaching a group of rookies on the first ever season of The Ultimate Fighter on FX.
2005
Begins his career at lightweight in the Rage in the Cage promotion, going undefeated and finishing three out of his first five fights.
2006
Cruz makes his long-awaited debut in the featherweight division, defeating Shad Smith via unanimous decision. This win would get him his call up to the WEC to face off against Urjiah Faber for the featherweight title.
2007
Despite making the move to Alliance MMA and training with head coach Eric Del Fierro, Cruz loses his one and only fight against arch-nemesis Urijah Faber via first-round guillotine choke.
March 2008
Cruz makes his return to the MMA world, 364 days after his loss to Urijah Faber, defeating Kenneth Aimes with strikes in the first round at Total Combat 27.
June 2008
Returns to the WEC as a bantamweight, defeating long-standing WEC fighter Charlie Valencia via unanimous decision.
Early 2009
Cruz begins his run through the WEC bantamweight division defeating current UFC flyweight Ian McCall and Ivan Lopez by decision.
August 2009
Cruz has an epic battle with Team Alpha Male and Urijah Faber protégé, Joseph Benvidez, winning via unanimous decision and earning a shot at then WEC bantamweight champion, Brian Bowles.
March 2010
Cruz wins the WEC bantamweight title due to Brian Bowles breaking his hand during the bout in the second round in what was a back and forth bout.
Late 2010
Cruz wins a rematch with Joseph Benavidez by split decision, and then defeats Scott Jorgensen at the last-ever WEC event, making him the last WEC bantamweight champion.
2011
Cruz makes his UFC debut defending the UFC bantamweight title against rival Urijah Faber. A tough match between the two finishes with Cruz gaining revenge and earning a decision victory. He goes on to defeat Demetrious Johnson at UFC Live 6 in October.
2012
Cruz and Faber attempt to settle their rivalry as coaches on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter: Live. A knee injury during the show puts Cruz out of action between 9 and 18 months.
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