FanHouse MartinKampmann

DALLAS – While Rich Franklin will likely never say it, he didn't want a fight in September, let alone one against Vitor Belfort. Franklin would have preferred some time off, but the need for a headliner for UFC 103 pushed him into making the decision to participate.

Franklin may be a company man, but that loyalty – along with Belfort's considerable skills – cost Franklin, as Belfort returned to the UFC with a shocking first-round TKO over the ex-UFC middleweight champion in front of 17,428 at the American Airlines Center.

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In a major upset that shakes up the welterweight division, Paul Daley beat Martin Kampmann at UFC 103 by first-round TKO, pummeling Kampmann with a punches in bunches.

This is the UFC 103 live blog for Paul Daley vs. Martin Kampmann, one of the featured bouts of the night's pay-per-view card.

I'm cageside at the American Airlines Center in Dallas for all the blow-by-blow. You can also keep track of all the action by following me on Twitter.

The live blog begins below.

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On this week's edition of The MMA Hour, we were joined by UFC welterweight contender Mike Swick to talk about his recent injury, which forced him to withdraw from his UFC 103 bout against Martin Kampmann. Swick also talked about when he expects to fight next and his desire to face veteran Matt Hughes.

Later in the program, we spoke to Phillipe Nover about his important fight at Wednesday's UFC Fight Night 19 against Sam Stout. Nover is coming off two straight disappointing loses and needs a big win against Stout to reignite his career. Check out the show below.

Prior to UFC 72, Martin Kampmann was on the verge of fighting Rich Franklin for a future shot at middleweight champion Anderson Silva. However, a knee injury forced him to withdraw from the bout. Since then, the 27-year-old worked his way up the welterweight division. He was supposed to fight Mike Swick at UFC 103 for a shot at current 170-pound champion Georges St-Pierre, but Swick pulled out late last week after suffering a concussion in training.

Kampmann (15-2) will now face UFC newcomer Paul Daley (21-8-2) on Sept. 19, but as he recently told FanHouse, no title shot will be on the line. Still, the Danish-born fighter, who most recently defeated Carlos Condit at UFC Fight Night 18 in April, is just excited to return to action. Check out the full interview below.

The September 19 UFC 103 fight card has taken a hit, with Mike Swick reportedly suffering an injury and pulling out of his scheduled welterweight bout with Martin Kampmann. According to the UK Sun, Paul Daley will step in to take on Kampmann instead.

That's a significant disappointment for anyone buying the UFC 103 pay-per-view. Swick vs. Kampmann had been advertised as the bout that would determine the next contender to UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre, but that now goes out the window. Daley vs. Kampmann is a decent fight, but it's nowhere near as good a fight as Swick vs. Kampmann, and Daley vs. Kampmann is certainly not a good enough fight to justify giving the winner a title shot.

Matt Hughes has signed a new multi-fight deal with the UFC, officially ending rumors and speculation that the former UFC welterweight champ had fought his last fight at UFC 98 in May.

"Last week I went out to Vegas and I signed a multi-fight deal with the UFC, which is much like my last contract," Hughes wrote Thursday on his blog. "I also brought up the fact that I wanted to do a hunting show and they thought that would be a good thing."

Hughes (43-7) was victorious in his last fight against Matt Serra, but had entered UFC 98 with three losses out of his previous four fights.

Reigning UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre -- still on the mend from a groin injury he suffered in his last successful title defense against Thiago Alves -- is targeting a likely January 2010 return to the octagon, his manager Shari Spencer told FanHouse.

The 28-year-old St. Pierre suffered the injury in the third round of the UFC 100 bout and gutted his way through the pain for the remainder of the five-round fight, earning a lopsided unanimous decision. In the aftermath, he feared a torn groin, but received a reprieve when doctors informed him the injury was not as serious as previously thought, and that no surgery was necessary. St. Pierre, who is hoping to gain clearance to return to full-contact sparring within the next two weeks, has recently been enjoying his downtime with a trip to Saint-Tropez, France.

"He's feeling well and just waiting for clearance to resume his full-contact training," Spencer said.

The last time we spoke to Jon Fitch he talked about getting engaged the day after UFC 100. But that wasn't the only exciting thing to happen to him that weekend. Fitch won his second fight in a row (and 17th in 18 fights), defeating Paul Thiago via unanimous decision. The victory surely meant a lot to Fitch because Thiago had shockingly defeated his American Kickboxing Academy team member, Josh Koscheck, in February.

FanHouse spoke to Fitch about what's next for him and the funky goatee he sported on ESPN.com's MMA Live after the bout. The full interview is below.

The next opponent for UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre will be determined between Mike Swick and Martin Kampmann at UFC 103.

White confirmed the number one contender bout Wednesday in a formal announcement for the UFC 103 event on Sept. 19 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.