The UFC 126 co-main event was a fight that went pretty much as expected in that it went to the judges for a decision. The fight began with Forrest Griffin immediately taking Rich Franklin down in what was the biggest surprise of the night for many.
Griffin was able to keep Franklin on his back for the duration of the round, but Franklin defended well without taking much damage at all. Griffin mostly landed glancing blows and a couple of elbows, as he was never able to really pace the guard of Rich Franklin.
The second round was a back and forth striking match, which saw Griffin land a couple of stiff shots. One in particular had Franklin dazed a bit, but he was able to regain his composure fairly quickly. It was a close round as Franklin was able to score with his patented left body kick to the liver. However, Griffin was the slightly busier fighter and was awarded the round.
The final round featured a little of everything, striking, take-downs, and transitions from the standing to the ground. Franklin was able to score much more effectively as Griffin seemed like he was starting to fade towards the latter part of the round.
Franklin landed several body kicks, and was even able to reverse a Griffin take-down attempt into a take-down of his own. However, Griffin quickly reversed and then was able to get back to his feet as they traded wild punches just as the final bell sounded. The judges awarded the unanimous decision to Forrest Griffin.