Arlovski Dominates and Franklin Takes the Belt at UFC 53
By Jim Genia
(June 4th, Atlantic City, New Jersey) It truly was a night of ‘heavy hitters’ here at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall, as Interim Heavyweight Champ Andrei Arlovski reaffirmed his dominance and Rich Franklin boxed his way to victory – and the UFC Middleweight Championship belt. But the real heavy hitting came on the undercard, as judo stud Karo Parisyan, welterweight standout Nick Diaz, middleweight beast David Loiseau, and Ultimate Fighter star Nate Quarry all out-struck their opponents to get the win. Yes, it was a night of unbridled beatdowns, and the close to 12,000 fans in attendance were almost non-stop in the cheers of approval. Highlights of the event included:
- The spinning back kick thrown by David Loiseau, which caught Charles McCarthy flush and crumpled him. An amazing and crowd-pleasing finish!
- The boxing clinic put on by Rich Franklin. Despite being rocked in the first round, he went on to dominate Evan Tanner and snatch away the middleweight belt.
- The seesaw battle between Matt Serra and Karo Parisyan, which had Serra stunning the judo rep early, and then had Parisyan delivering a fierce ground and pound later on.
- Another strong performance by Interim Heavyweight Champ Andrei Arlovski, as he was well on his way to knocking Justin Eilers out before Eilers inadvertently injured his knee.
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| Andrei Arlovski |
The full results:
UFC Heavyweight Interim Title
Andrei Arlovski vs. Justin Eilers
Arlovski via ref stoppage due to unanswered strikes at 4:10 of R1.
Welterweight Swing Bout
Matt Serra vs. Karo Parisyan
Parisyan via unanimous decision.
UFC Middleweight Championship
Evan Tanner vs. Rich Franklin
Franklin via doctor stoppage at 3:45 of R4. Franklin is the new UFC Middleweight Champ!
Light-heavyweight Bout
Forrest Griffin vs. Bill Mahood
Griffin via rear choke at 2:18 of R1.
Heavyweight Bout
Paul Buentello vs. Kevin Jordan
Buentello via guillotine at 4:00 of R1.
Prelims:
Middleweight Bout
Nate Quarry vs. Shonie Carter
Quarry via ref stoppage due to unanswered strikes at 2:37 of R1.
Welterweight Bout
Nick Diaz vs. Koji Oishi
Diaz via ref stoppage due to unanswered strikes at 1:24 of R1.
Middleweight Bout
David Loiseau vs. Charles McCarthy
Loiseau via ref stoppage due to unanswered strikes at 2:10 of R2 – a phenomenal finish!
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