UFC 83 Undercard Live Blog: Rich Franklin, Travis Lutter, Michael Bisping, More

The undercard is over. Now please join me for the Georges St-Pierre vs. Matt Serra main event live blog.

Welcome to the FanHouse live blog of the UFC 83 undercard, where we'll provide live, round-by-round updates and analysis of all the fights on tonight's undercard, featuring Rich Franklin vs. Travis Lutter, Michael Bisping vs. Charles McCarthy, Mark Bocek vs. Mac Danzig and Kalib Starnes vs. Nate Quarry.

The televised portion of the undercard has begun. Kenny Florian is handling the commentary in place of Joe Rogan, who has "family obligations." He looked just a bit nervous in his opening.

The live blog begins after the jump.

Refresh this page every minute for constant updates.

Mark Bocek vs. Mac Danzig
Bocek is in the Octagon. Considering that he's Canadian, I'm a little surprised he isn't getting a louder ovation from the crowd. Danzig is in the Octagon.

Round 1: This fight is underway. Bocek landed a strike, Danzig appeared to shake it off. Bocek has Danzig against the cage, looking for a takedown. They're on the ground and Bocek appears to have the advantage. Bocek lands several strikes on the ground. But Danzig goes for the triangle! And then Bocek gets free and lands several strikes in a ground-and-pound. Bocek is looking for a choke, gets a takedown, but Danzig is showing good defense. They've been on the ground for a couple of minutes, Danzig then gets back to his feet. They've been against the fence for most of the round. It's been a hard-fought first round and I'll give it to Bocek.

Round 2: Bocek is backing Danzig up early. They go to the ground. Bocek went down and he's in trouble. A Danzig knee went straight to Bocek's chin and he's in trouble. Danzig is trying to get position on the ground but Bocek appears to have recovered. They're back on their feet and Bocek did a very good job recovering after I thought he was in serious trouble. And now Danzig is on top in full mount and landing strikes. Bocek is just trying to survive. Danzig is looking to get a choke with a minute and a half to go in the round. And now they're back on their feet. And Bocek lands a combination. It's amazing that Bocek survived and is actually now landing strikes. Now they're back on the ground and Danzig is back in the dominant position. The round is over, and Danzig clearly won that one.

Round 3: Danzig looks fresh; Bocek's face is a bruised, bloody mess. Bocek takes the initiative and lands some strikes. Right now Bocek is on top on the ground but Danzig is throwing some elbows. Danzig's right eye is bloodied. Danzig takes the fight back to the feet. He hurt Bocek badly with a knee and Bocek is streaming blood out of his face. I don't know if Bocek can make it through this fight. They've called a pause to the fight so the doctor can check Bocek's cut. I'm a little surprised the doctor allowed the fight to keep going because Bocek is bleeding profusely. Bocek is a fighter, he won't stop. Danzig sweeps Bocek's legs to get the takedown. He's in mount. Danzig is going for a choke. It's over!

Result: Mac Danzig wins by submission (rear-naked choke)

Michael Bisping vs. Charles McCarthy
McCarthy is in the Octagon. Bisping is in the Octagon. The crowd seems to be behind the British Bisping over the American McCarthy.
Round 1: This fight is underway. Bisping appears to be in better shape, for what that's worth. Bisping seems to want to make this a kickboxing match, and he lands a series of knees. Wow, Bisping's consecutive knees were brutally effective. Another knee. Bisping is really hurting McCarthy early. Bisping is landing strikes and knees and McCarthy is doing nothing through the first two minutes of the round. And then a great takedown by McCarthy! What a phenomenal takedown. McCarthy is looking for ground and pound but Bisping is showing good ground defense. McCarthy is looking for an arm bar. Bisping is doing all he can to keep his arm bent and not allow McCarthy to straighten it. And Bisping gets out and they're back on their feet. Bisping has a solid high kick. Knees and uppercuts for Bisping. McCarthy is in trouble. Bisping is brutalizing McCarthy. But McCarthy is saved by the bell. And it's over! McCarthy can't get up to keep fighting! The bell saved McCarthy but he couldn't get up to get back to his corner and that ends the fight. A very good performance by Bisping.

Result: Bisping wins by TKO


Kalib Starnes vs. Nate Quarry
Quarry is in the Octagon. Starnes is in the Octagon.
Round 1: This fight is underway. Quarry goes for a body shot early. They're standing against the cage. Quarry is showing some good skill in the clinch and avoiding takedowns. The crowd is booing because there's not a lot of action. Quarry has a good combination. Starnes is backing off and not getting much done. Quarry is controlling the fight. It has not been a particularly exciting first round. Quarry wins the round on my card, and I'm sure the judges' cards as well.

Round 2: The crowd continues to boo as they get through the early part of the second round without a lot of action. Starnes is slowing down and Quarry is still the aggressor. Quarry is definitely winning this fight but he's not taking advantage as much as he should of his opportunities to finish it. Quarry wins the round again, but it's been fairly dull as Starnes is basically just trying not to get hurt.

Round 3: Quarry again becomes the aggressor. He is putting together an impressive fight, but Starnes is doing so little that Quarry isn't having any opportunities to finish the fight. Starnes just cannot do anything; it's really a dominating performance by Quarry, almost entirely on his feet, with a bunch of strikes and not much else. Starnes tried a kick but Quarry caught it easily. Starnes tried to switch his stance and that didn't do him any good. Starnes landed a strike but then Quarry landed a knee. Starnes is at least doing a little bit of work now, but this fight is all but over. A nice leg kick by Quarry. Quarry is now just taunting Starnes. I've never seen that. The fight is over, I give the fight to Quarry and I'm sure the judges will as well. Neither fighter showed much sportsmanship afterward; they were both swearing at each other. The fans are booing Starnes mercilessly.

Result: Nate Quarry wins by unanimous decision. It was so dominant a performance that one judge gave it to Quarry 30-24.

Rich Franklin vs. Travis Lutter
Lutter has entered the Octagon. Lutter didn't have any trouble making weight, but he doesn't appear to be in great shape. Franklin is clearly the crowd favorite in Montreal. Franklin has entered the Octagon. UFC is officially calling this the co-main event, but obviously, this is just a warmup for the big one.
Round 1: This fight is underway. Franklin caught Lutter with a strike when Lutter went in for a takedown. Lutter is now on top on the ground, and Franklin may be in trouble early. Lutter has Franklin right where he wants him on the ground. Lutter is in side mount and is looking for a place to get a submission. But Franklin does a nice job of defending himself on the bottom. Franklin has better ground defense here than I thought he would. We're three minutes in and it's been fairly uneventful, as Lutter is looking for an opening and Franklin isn't giving it to him. Lutter had an arm bar and Franklin got out of it! I thought Franklin was about to tap out but he got out of it. An excellent job of spinning out of the arm bar from Franklin. Now Franklin is landing some strikes on the ground. Lutter is now going after Franklin's leg. They're standing against the cage as the first round ends, and I'll give it to Lutter, but it was close.

Round 2: Lutter tried to get it to the ground but Franklin stood him up. Another takedown attempt by Lutter and another nice example of takedown defense by Franklin. Lutter keeps trying to use his superior jiujitsu and Franklin isn't allowing him to. Lutter is very tired right now, he's breathing heavily and Franklin may be able to take advantage of superior conditioning. Franklin landed a nice strike. Franklin stands it up again. Franklin lands a big combination of punches to Lutter's head. Lutter is in trouble. It's over! The ref steps in as Franklin repeatedly lands strikes to the head.

Result: Rich Franklin wins by TKO.

The undercard is over. Join me now for the GSP vs. Matt Serra main event live blog.