Today from Cologne Germany the UFC will be broadcasting its latest set of fights. Nothing really significant going on this time. Silva loosing to Franklin could effectively be the end his era and Swick winning could position him as a top contender in the welterweight division. Of course the return of Cro Cop is also worth noting. If we wins he resets his relationship with the UFC; if he looses is all over.

As usual here are the cards and my picks. Watch and enjoy.

Main Card:
Catchweight (195 lb) Rich Franklin vs Wanderlei Silva - Franklin by KO (round 2)
Heavyweight Cheick Kongo vs Cain Velasquez - Kongo by KO (round 2)
Welterweight Mike Swick vs Ben Saunders - Swick by Dec
Welterweight Marcus Davis vs Dan Hardy - Hardy by KO (round 2)
Lightweight Spencer Fisher vs Caol Uno - Fisher by Sub (round 3)
Heavyweight Mirko Filipovic' vs Mostapha Al-turk - Cro Cop by KO (round 1)

Preliminary Card
Lightweight Terry Etim vs Justin Buchholz - Etim by Sub (round 3)
Lightweight Dennis Siver vs Dale Hartt - Hartt by KO (round 2)
Welterweight Paul Taylor vs Peter Sobotta - Sobotta by Dec
Lightweight Paul Kelly vs Rolando Delgado - Kelly by KO (round 2)
Heavyweight Denis Stojnic vs Stefan Struve - Struve by Sub (round 1)
Welterweight John Hathaway vs Rick Story - Hathaway by Dec

Really psyched to see Cro Cop fight again!

Well last night we enjoyed a good set of fights. Although the card was nothing spectacular a couple of fights were exciting. The first fight of the night Davis-Hardy was a real battle ending with Hardy wining by split decision. Cro Cop won by TKO over Al-Turk on the first round. Someone of a controversial finish as Crop Cop poked Al-Turk in the eye (usually this requires a stoppage) but the referee didn't notice and Cro Cop continue with punches until the official TKO was called.

Another interesting fight was the Velasquez-Kongo. Velasquez dominated from round one by forcing Kongo to the grown over and over and maintaining constant pressure that Kongo couldn't resolve; Kongo showed very little take down defense. Velasquez obtained the victory by unanimous decision. It is worth noting that Kongo took this fight on short notice. The final battle of the night between Franklin and Silva ended with Rich clearly defeating a slow and predictable Silva by decision. Wanderlei has lost 5 of his last 6 so I think it is time for retirement.

Here are the official results:


Main Card:
Catchweight (195 lb) Rich Franklin vs Wanderlei Silva - Franklin by Dec
Heavyweight Cheick Kongo vs Cain Velasquez - Velasquez by Dec
Welterweight Mike Swick vs Ben Saunders - Swick by KO (round 2)
Welterweight Marcus Davis vs Dan Hardy - Hardy by Dec
Lightweight Spencer Fisher vs Caol Uno - Fisher by Dec
Heavyweight Mirko Filipovic' vs Mostapha Al-turk - Cro Cop by TKO (round 1)

Preliminary Card:
Lightweight Terry Etim vs Justin Buchholz - Etim by Sub (round 2)
Lightweight Dennis Siver vs Dale Hartt - Siver by Sub (round 1)
Welterweight Paul Taylor vs Peter Sobotta - Taylor by Dec
Lightweight Paul Kelly vs Rolando Delgado - Kelly by Dec
Heavyweight Denis Stojnic vs Stefan Struve - Struve by Sub (round 2)
Welterweight John Hathaway vs Rick Story - Hathaway by Dec