Dream becomes reality for UFC hopefuls

Monday, April 11, 2005 | 9:18 a.m.

In the first of two Ultimate Fighting Championships cards on successive weekends in Las Vegas, light heavyweight Rich Franklin scored a first-round TKO against veteran Ken Shamrock in the main event Saturday night at the Cox Pavilion.

Two other featured matches determined the championships of "The Ultimate Fighter," a UFC reality show competition that aired on Spike TV (Cox cable channel 29).

Diego Sanchez of Albuquerque stopped Kenny Florian of Boston at 2:49 of the first round in the middleweight final, and Forrest Griffin of Athens, Ga., recorded a close but unanimous decision against Stephan Bonnar of Chicago in the light heavyweight final.

In the main event of "UFC 52" this Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, light heavyweight champion Randy Couture (13-6 in mixed martial arts) and No. 1 contender Chuck Liddell (14-3) are scheduled to square off.

Couture and Liddell served as coaches of the opposing teams of fighters in the Spike reality series.

Shamrock, the erstwhile "World's Most Dangerous Man," is 26-9-2 in mixed martial arts and was the first man named to the UFC's hall of fame. But at age 41 he entered the octagon as a 2-1 underdog against Franklin, according to oddsmakers.

Franklin, 30, of Cincinnati, took control of the match when Shamrock slipped while attempting to deliver a kick, and battered Shamrock about the head until the match was halted at 2:44.

"It was an honor to be here with these young kids," Shamrock said. "With his attitude and his skill level, (Franklin) can go far in this business."

Franklin (19-1) said he plans to drop to the middleweight division and seek the belt held by Evan Tanner.

Sanchez (15-0) administered a beating to Florian (4-2) highlighted by a couple of vicious right hands.

"I busted his nose real bad," Sanchez said. "From there I smelled the blood ... I was like a pit bull."

Bonnar (9-2), a two-time Golden Gloves champion, and Griffin (10-2), a police officer in Augusta, Ga., fought a competitive, crowd-pleasing match, for the most part staying off the mat.

"I worked on my footwork, my feints," Bonnar said. But about three minutes into the bout, "I bagged all that and started to swing for the fences."

With their victories, Griffin and Sanchez won contracts to fight with the UFC that organization president Dana White described as being worth "six figures." They also each won a 2005 Toyota Scion, a dirt bike and a watch.

After the light heavyweight bout, White said Bonnar acquitted himself so well in the octagon that he, too, would be awarded a UFC contract.

This coming Saturday's eight-fight card at the MGM will be available on pay-per-view at a suggested retail price of $34.95.