Griffin, Franklin win in ultimate fighting

BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) — Forrest Griffin and Rich Franklin had to work for their victories Saturday at Odyssey Arena in UFC 72.

Franklin was the aggressor against Yushin Okami in the first two rounds of their middleweight fight, though few of his blows penetrated Okami’s defense.

In the third and final round, Okami gained the advantage with an arm-lock. The Japanese fighter looked poised for the win, but the American escaped and took home a unanimous 29-28 decision.

Griffin was tentative in his light-heavyweight fight with Hector Ramirez of Mexico, later explaining he was concerned about a repeat of his knockout loss to Keith Jardine at UFC 66. Though Griffin took a unanimous 30-27 victory, he will have to improve to earn a title shot against Quinton Jackson.

Lightweights Clay Guida and Tyson Griffin staged the fight of the night on the card of non-title bouts.

The two went back-and-forth on their feet and down on the mat. Griffin won a split decision that was booed by the audience.

Northern Irishmen Stevie Lynch and Colin Robinson were unsuccessful in their UFC debuts.