Fluid Franklin Crumbles Quarry in One, Hughes Subs Riggs
Main Cards
Josh Gross Nov 20, 2005
LAS VEGAS, Nov. 19 — Had UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin (Pictures) been offered the opportunity to
script his first title defense, it’s hard to imagine his vision for
a perfect fight would have been very different than what actually
took place in the cage tonight versus challenger Nathan Quarry (Pictures).
Unleashing a series of three- and four-strike combinations, the southpaw champion, making his return to the UFC after winning the 185-title against Evan Tanner (Pictures) in June, scored the first UFC title defense of his career midway through round one of Saturday’s five-round title fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
The victory marked Franklin’s seventh stoppage in seven UFC
contests, and his third straight main-event conquest.
Pawing a jab while slipping a Quarry lead left, Franklin quickly moved forward and slammed a left of his own into Quarry’s jaw, freezing the Team Quest middleweight before he fell like a plywood plank to the canvas.
Coming into tonight’s bout few gave the challenger much of a shot against the fluid Franklin. Quarry, a fighter with a solid though not terribly impressive record who made a name for himself during the debut season of Spike TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter” before being forced off the show with a badly injured leg, believed otherwise, suggesting doubters who felt he did not deserve a title shot would just have to “wait and see.”
Two minutes 34 seconds after the opening bell, there was no longer a debate about whether Quarry’s plodding, choppy style could match Franklin’s grace in the cage.
The champion scored early, dropping a multi-punch combo that buffeted Quarry back. Though the challenger smiled after the exchange, one Franklin said broke Quarry’s nose, it was apparent his resolve would not be enough to withstand the champion’s seamless transitions.
“When I step into the ring I don't consider myself that one big shot heavy puncher,” Franklin said after the fight, “and you can look at my history and I’m the kind of guy that will pour on the combination: hit you with a three-piece move, hit you with another three-piece, and then hit you with another three-piece. And it’s that last three piece that puts you down. And that’s what I always expect to do when I’m fighting in the ring. I never expect, even if I hit someone with my best shot and they take it, I know I’m going to come back, slip and hit ‘em with another combination that’s going to hurt them, too.”
There are those, including this reporter, that were quick to point out before the fight that Quarry was not the Team Quest fighter who should have met Franklin for his first defense. Quarry’s performance validates those criticisms.
By all rights — except, it would appear, contractual — Matt Lindland (Pictures), whose name may shadow Franklin throughout his UFC title reign, should have been the one in the cage here tonight. Franklin, however, did not seem put off by the Lindland talk, suggesting that on matters of matchmaking he defers to the judgment of the UFC.
“Maybe we will end up fighting one day before my career is over,” Franklin said of the recently exiled Olympian. “Who knows?”
For now, he’ll have to deal with a talented group of UFC middleweights. At the top of that list would seem to be Canadian David Loiseau (Pictures).
“I’m not afraid to throw hands with anybody in this sport,” the champ said when asked about Loiseau. “I believe being a southpaw helps me and I have good hands and I’m willing to put it on the line with anybody out there.”
NON-TITLE, NO CONTEST
One day after failing to make weight for his challenge against UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes (Pictures), Joe Riggs (Pictures) unfortunate weekend in Las Vegas continued when the Arizona-based fighter tapped out due to Kimura 3:28 of round one.
Riggs, whose size advantage was obvious from any vantage point in the MGM Grand Garden Arena (Sherdog.com watched from about halfway up in the stands), couldn't find an answer to Hughes’ strength or skill. Had he not suffered the physical and mental anguish of Friday’s weigh-in fiasco, it probably would not have made much of a difference.
Hughes showed his quickness early, landing kicks to Riggs’s head and body, the latter delivering a smack heard throughout the not-quite sold-out building. A single-leg takedown, the only one he’d need during a contest that had been pared from five rounds to three, put Hughes in position to go after his “bread and butter” submission.
The moment Hughes worked to side-control the bout was effectively over, as the champion used leverage and power to force Riggs’s arm into an awful position.
It would seem that after this ordeal, Riggs would be better off returning to middleweight. He’s big enough to hand challengers who cut down to make 185, and his foray into the welterweight division may pay dividends when it comes to quickness and agility.
Hughes, meanwhile, continues to dominate at this weight. After tonight, however, it would appear there is a legitimate threat in front of him, or, more accurately, to his North.
“Rush” Doesn’t Want Delays
Georges St. Pierre (Pictures) did what Hughes could not, stopping the rock with limbs that is Sean Sherk (Pictures) 2:53 of round two.
After losing to Hughes 13 months ago in Atlantic City, tonight’s victory was St. Pierre’s third in a row in the UFC (four overall). Standing in his way was stylistically and physically one of the more challenging fighters in the welterweight division. But to watch St. Pierre tear Sherk apart over a round and half you’d hardly know that he had only one blemish in 30 previous fights, a decision loss to Hughes in April 2003.
Once known for the best takedowns in mixed martial arts, Sherk was shutout in that department tonight. St. Pierre’s ability to sprawl and circle forced Sherk, with his significant height and reach disadvantage, into a dangerous kickboxing game.
The Minnesotan seemed happy to work inside, but with his short arms he had trouble scoring. Soon Sherk, who returned to the UFC Saturday for the first time since the Hughes bout, traded leg kicks for punches and, for the most part, was on the bad end of those exchanges.
Sherk was exposed and midway through the opening period the young Canadian drove into him and brought the fight to the floor for the first time. Here, he dominated the remaining two and a half minutes.
In round two, St. Pierre deftly jabbed Sherk, who offered little in the way of head movement during his seven-plus minutes in the cage. Scoring at will, St. Pierre then bulled Sherk back to the canvas, where the fight remained until its conclusion.
During his post-fight interview with UFC color commentator Joe Rogan, St. Pierre went to both knees and pleaded for the UFC to give him another title shot. However, it appears as if he’ll have to wait through one more hellish contender bout, as talk after his win tonight has him first facing the re-signed B.J. Penn (Pictures).
Unleashing a series of three- and four-strike combinations, the southpaw champion, making his return to the UFC after winning the 185-title against Evan Tanner (Pictures) in June, scored the first UFC title defense of his career midway through round one of Saturday’s five-round title fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
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Pawing a jab while slipping a Quarry lead left, Franklin quickly moved forward and slammed a left of his own into Quarry’s jaw, freezing the Team Quest middleweight before he fell like a plywood plank to the canvas.
“Before the fight began I looked up at the Jumbotron [and] I saw
that his reach was an inch and a half longer than mine,” Franklin
said. “So, I mean I was sizing him up still when I was in the ring
and looking for the advantages and disadvantages that I had. He
threw one punch, it grazed my head. But his hook was short and just
things were a little choppy. And I felt, once the round started
developing, I felt myself taking over.”
Coming into tonight’s bout few gave the challenger much of a shot against the fluid Franklin. Quarry, a fighter with a solid though not terribly impressive record who made a name for himself during the debut season of Spike TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter” before being forced off the show with a badly injured leg, believed otherwise, suggesting doubters who felt he did not deserve a title shot would just have to “wait and see.”
Two minutes 34 seconds after the opening bell, there was no longer a debate about whether Quarry’s plodding, choppy style could match Franklin’s grace in the cage.
The champion scored early, dropping a multi-punch combo that buffeted Quarry back. Though the challenger smiled after the exchange, one Franklin said broke Quarry’s nose, it was apparent his resolve would not be enough to withstand the champion’s seamless transitions.
“When I step into the ring I don't consider myself that one big shot heavy puncher,” Franklin said after the fight, “and you can look at my history and I’m the kind of guy that will pour on the combination: hit you with a three-piece move, hit you with another three-piece, and then hit you with another three-piece. And it’s that last three piece that puts you down. And that’s what I always expect to do when I’m fighting in the ring. I never expect, even if I hit someone with my best shot and they take it, I know I’m going to come back, slip and hit ‘em with another combination that’s going to hurt them, too.”
There are those, including this reporter, that were quick to point out before the fight that Quarry was not the Team Quest fighter who should have met Franklin for his first defense. Quarry’s performance validates those criticisms.
By all rights — except, it would appear, contractual — Matt Lindland (Pictures), whose name may shadow Franklin throughout his UFC title reign, should have been the one in the cage here tonight. Franklin, however, did not seem put off by the Lindland talk, suggesting that on matters of matchmaking he defers to the judgment of the UFC.
“Maybe we will end up fighting one day before my career is over,” Franklin said of the recently exiled Olympian. “Who knows?”
For now, he’ll have to deal with a talented group of UFC middleweights. At the top of that list would seem to be Canadian David Loiseau (Pictures).
“I’m not afraid to throw hands with anybody in this sport,” the champ said when asked about Loiseau. “I believe being a southpaw helps me and I have good hands and I’m willing to put it on the line with anybody out there.”
NON-TITLE, NO CONTEST
One day after failing to make weight for his challenge against UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes (Pictures), Joe Riggs (Pictures) unfortunate weekend in Las Vegas continued when the Arizona-based fighter tapped out due to Kimura 3:28 of round one.
Riggs, whose size advantage was obvious from any vantage point in the MGM Grand Garden Arena (Sherdog.com watched from about halfway up in the stands), couldn't find an answer to Hughes’ strength or skill. Had he not suffered the physical and mental anguish of Friday’s weigh-in fiasco, it probably would not have made much of a difference.
Hughes showed his quickness early, landing kicks to Riggs’s head and body, the latter delivering a smack heard throughout the not-quite sold-out building. A single-leg takedown, the only one he’d need during a contest that had been pared from five rounds to three, put Hughes in position to go after his “bread and butter” submission.
The moment Hughes worked to side-control the bout was effectively over, as the champion used leverage and power to force Riggs’s arm into an awful position.
It would seem that after this ordeal, Riggs would be better off returning to middleweight. He’s big enough to hand challengers who cut down to make 185, and his foray into the welterweight division may pay dividends when it comes to quickness and agility.
Hughes, meanwhile, continues to dominate at this weight. After tonight, however, it would appear there is a legitimate threat in front of him, or, more accurately, to his North.
“Rush” Doesn’t Want Delays
Georges St. Pierre (Pictures) did what Hughes could not, stopping the rock with limbs that is Sean Sherk (Pictures) 2:53 of round two.
After losing to Hughes 13 months ago in Atlantic City, tonight’s victory was St. Pierre’s third in a row in the UFC (four overall). Standing in his way was stylistically and physically one of the more challenging fighters in the welterweight division. But to watch St. Pierre tear Sherk apart over a round and half you’d hardly know that he had only one blemish in 30 previous fights, a decision loss to Hughes in April 2003.
Once known for the best takedowns in mixed martial arts, Sherk was shutout in that department tonight. St. Pierre’s ability to sprawl and circle forced Sherk, with his significant height and reach disadvantage, into a dangerous kickboxing game.
The Minnesotan seemed happy to work inside, but with his short arms he had trouble scoring. Soon Sherk, who returned to the UFC Saturday for the first time since the Hughes bout, traded leg kicks for punches and, for the most part, was on the bad end of those exchanges.
Sherk was exposed and midway through the opening period the young Canadian drove into him and brought the fight to the floor for the first time. Here, he dominated the remaining two and a half minutes.
In round two, St. Pierre deftly jabbed Sherk, who offered little in the way of head movement during his seven-plus minutes in the cage. Scoring at will, St. Pierre then bulled Sherk back to the canvas, where the fight remained until its conclusion.
During his post-fight interview with UFC color commentator Joe Rogan, St. Pierre went to both knees and pleaded for the UFC to give him another title shot. However, it appears as if he’ll have to wait through one more hellish contender bout, as talk after his win tonight has him first facing the re-signed B.J. Penn (Pictures).
