UFC 115: Post-Show News and Notes

Here are a few notes to wrap up our UFC 115 coverage from Vancouver this weekend. The Heavy.com team is now in Los Angeles and will be covering Wednesday’s “Strikeforce: Los Angeles” event, which features a main event catchweight bout between Robbie Lawler and Renato “Babalu” Sobral. From there, the team heads to Las Vegas to cover the Ultimate Fighter Finale on Saturday night.

Needless to say, Heavy.com is the place to be for MMA coverage this week.

FRANKLIN HEADED FOR SURGERY

Rich Franklin is having surgery to correct a broken ulna suffered in last night’s fight with Chuck Liddell. The former middleweight champion’s arm was broken while blocking a Liddell kick early in the first round. Franklin powered through the injury to knock Liddell out and send him into retirement for the final time, but said after the fight that the injury would have severely hampered him in the second and third frames.

“I definitely wasn’t going to quit. I’ve broken bones before and continued fighting,” Franklin said. “But there was part of me that was wondering what kind of strategy I was going to use to win the fight with a broken left arm in the second and third rounds.”

FILIPOVIC WILL GET NEW CONTRACT

Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic will likely sign a new contract with the UFC following his submission victory over Pat Barry. Filipovic said prior to the bout that he wanted to finish his career in the UFC, and Dana White said after the fight that Filipovic’s impressive performance was enough to warrant a new contract.

“We’re going to talk to Mirko and see what Mirko wants to do,” White said. “Mirko said to me that he wants to finish his career here, so we plan on him finishing his career with the UFC.”

Filipovic, who made himself openly available to the media for the first time in his career, said that his preparation for the Barry fight was the hardest he’s ever done. The Croatian has typically prepared for opponents by undertaking a sparse camp, a low-tech effort compared to the majority of modern fighters. Where most top fighters use multiple sparring partners and train in a regulation cage, Filipovic opted to simply hit heavy bags using boxing gloves, foregoing a live sparring element entirely.

That changed with this fight, however. Filipovic brought in multiple sparring partners. He trained in a cage. He used regulation UFC gloves instead of boxing gloves, all in preparation for proving to the world that he wasn’t too old to continue in the sport that made him a legend.

“I wanted to prove to everyone that I’m not too old, and they are wrong,” Filipovic said. “Using a punching bag is one thing, but sparring is another. The preparation for this fight was the hardest I’ve ever done in my entire life.”

LOISEAU WILL BE RELEASED AGAIN

David Loiseau will be released again after losing a one-sided bout to Mario Miranda. Loiseau, a long time UFC veteran and popular Canadian fighter, was brought back to the organization because his popularity in the region would help anchor the preliminary card.

Loiseau was completely dominated by Miranda from the beginning of the fight until it was mercifully stopped, and UFC president Dana White says the French-Canadian just hasn’t evolved as a fighter.

“David’s been in this sport a long time, and again tonight he got dominated on the ground,” White said. “I’m sure Joe Silva will cut him after this fight. He’ll have to work his way back up.”

QUICK NOTES

Rich Franklin won the Knockout of the Night award, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic won the Submission of the Night award, and Carlos Condit and Rory MacDonald won the Fight of the Night award. Each fighter will receive an $85,000 bonus on top of their contracted fight purse.

The event drew roughly 17,000 fans for a $4.2 million gate.

Jake Shields was in attendance at the event. He’s currently negotiating with the UFC and is expected to sign a contract soon.

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