mirko cro cop

Four fighters took home an extra $85,000 for their performances on Saturday’s UFC 115 card in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, as Rich Franklin, Mirko Cro Cop, Carlos Condit and Rory MacDonald were awarded the “Fight NIght” bonuses for the event.

Franklin earned the night’s “Knockout of the Night” for his first round knockout of Chuck Liddell in the night’s main event. The KO came with five seconds left in the round after Franklin had broken his left arm blocking a kick early in the fight.

Cro Cop took home the “Submission of the Night” for his surprising rear naked choke victory over Pat Barry in the third round of the co-main event. After surviving a first round that saw Barry damage the left side of his face, Cro Cop turned the fight in his favor in the second, and dropped Barry with a flurry in the third before locking on the choke.
Cro Cop’s face began to swell horribly. The announcers speculated that his jaw was broken. Cro Cop threw Pat Barry and got a take down. Then he landed a combination of punches that set the crowd on fire. Then they traded hugs! Then back to exchanging blows. Barry ended with a high kick that just missed.

Mirko looked really bad going into round two. He threw two big left high kicks to open. Then he landed with a kick to the body. And he surged forward behind a punching combination. This is a proud man! Barry with more leg kicks. They tied up and Mirko attacked Barry’s thighs with hammer fists then threw Barry down briefly. More knees to the bodies preceded a ref restart. Cro Cop advanced behind double jabs. Then a side kick landed for the Croation. Barry slipped on a high kick and Mirko locked on a front choke. Then he put Barry down on his back. Barry managed to hold Mirko close, but Filopovic worked for better position and attained mount. Then he got Barry’s back and worked for a rear naked choke! Barry flipped over but Cro Cop held dominant position to the end of the round. Great come back for Filopovic.

A bruised Pat Barry looked at a shattered Mirko Filopovic across the cage to start round three. They hugged a gain then got to business. Cro Cop fired combinations. Then he landed an axe kick! Cro Cop ducked a right hand and got body hooks. Barry timed a high kick and kicked his leg out from under him, dropping Cro Cop on his ass. Barry pinged with leg kicks. Barry tagged him with a left. Cro Cop answered with an uppercut. And another followed by a combination of hooks. Then they clinched near the cage where they traded standing elbows. Cro Cop landed more. The ref restarted them again . Cro Cop landed hard and poured it on. Then he dropped Barry and pounded away. Cro Cop whaled away and looked at the ref asking for a stoppage. Not getting it, he went for the rear naked choke and got the finish.