VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Heavy.com is live and on the scene in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada for UFC 115 this evening. The card features a light heavyweight bout between former champion of the division Chuck Liddell and former middleweight title holder Rich Franklin. Pat Barry and Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic will also square off this evening, as the heavyweights have made the co-main event slot.
The live pay-per-view is underway. Check out below for complete coverage from the main card of UFC 115.
Rory MacDonald vs. Carlos Condit
The 20-year old MacDonald got off to a quick start, looking confident and composed as he took the center of the cage. He held the advantage in the standing game, mainly due to his timing, and also had great success in getting the fight to the ground early and often. Throughout the entire first round, Condit landed one significant shot, while MacDonald had several nice combinations and a good deal of takedowns to take the round. Condit did not find much more success in the second round, failing to capitalize in the clinch and failing to compete with the superior grappler. However, in the final minute of the round Condit loosened up in the stand up and began to do a bit of damage. Unfortunately for him, he entered the third down two rounds to none.
The third round started the exact way the Vancouver crowd wanted, as the two welterweights came out swinging. Each man landed some significant blows, but MacDonald was the first to bow out of the war, looking for a takedown. The fight hit the floor and Condit quickly went to work. He landed several vicious elbows that cut MacDonald and moved to the mount. MacDonald managed to work his way back to the feet, but he was slowing down in a big way. The young prospect looked to get it back to the ground, but Condit ended up on top again, sending down thunder from the top position. MacDonald held on for survival as Condit continued to punish him, and with less than 10 seconds left, the referee stopped the fight. The stoppage was not received well from the fans, and while the official could have let it continue, MacDonald took a horrific beating in that final round. Condit def. MacDonald via technical knockout at 4:53 of Round 3.
Ben Rothwell vs. Gilbert Yvel
These two heavyweights came out swinging. Rothwell stormed in on Yvel, looking for the quick knockout, but a clinch and guillotine attempt by Yvel sent the fight to the floor. Rothwell gained the mount, but was quickly reversed. However, the heavier of the two didn’t waste anytime to get the fight back to the floor, ending up on top of Yvel in side control. Yet, once again, Yvel rolled Rothwell over, but was quickly put on his back again. However, once the fight hit the feet for the final minute of the round, Yvel was out for blood. The Dutch striker pummeled Rothwell as the round came to a close, and Rothwell looked very tired.
The second round began, and Rothwell was not the only one who looked exhausted. He scored a quick takedown and it was immediately apparent that Yvel was very tired from his first round efforts. Rothwell worked his way to the mount and began throwing down on his opponent, who was throwing strikes of his own from the bottom. However, the exhausted Rothwell lost his dominant position when Yvel swept him from the bottom and dominated Rothwell with a vicious series of punches from the top before Rothwell worked his way back to the feet. The round ended with Rothwell scoring another takedown and ending up in full mount once again.
The final round began with quite the surprise, as Yvel shot for a takedown, which was stuffed by Rothwell. Rothwell ended up in side control, and the two fighters looked absolutely spent. Rothwell moved to the mount yet again, but still managed to do little damage in the position. The remainder of the round was spent on the mat, with Rothwell on top the entire time. The first two rounds were entertaining, but these guys just did not have the cardio to exert themselves fully for anywhere close to 15 minutes. Rothwell def. Yvel via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).