Some more UFC 115 thoughts and a look ahead:

Mirko Filipovic defeated Pat Barry – Cro Cop won via submission for the first time in about six years – and just like that he has second life. White said he will meet with Cro Cop, written off by many (including this writer) after losses to Gabriel Gonzaga, Cheick Kongo and Junior Dos Santos, to negotiate a new contract. Barry’s career is far from over. In fact, he’s going to get a lot better once he recovers from a broken foot and hand – and develops a killer instinct than can trump love and admiration for a maximum of 15 minutes.

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In what was shades of Richard Steele’s controversial stoppage of Julio Caesar Chavez-Meldrick Taylor fight from 1990 with two seconds left, Kevin Dornan ended Carlos Condit’s win over Rory McDonald with seven seconds remaining, a decision that nearly caused a riot in Vancouver. Steele took an incredible amount of heat, but White supported Dornan’s decision of what was a huge win for Condit, who recaptured the spirit and verve that made him one of the WEC’s most exciting fighters after two-straight split-decision results (1-1) in the UFC.

“I’m the first one to blast a referee or a judge for making bad calls,” White said. “In my opinion, the referees aren’t looking at the time. They could give a [expletive] what time it is or how much time is left. They’re there to protect the fighters. Rory’s a young guy. He’s got a lot of fights ahead of him, and he took a lot of damage in that last round. I didn’t have any problem with the stoppage. It’s unfortunate when a fight stops with seconds left. It’s one of those things, but you won’t hear me bitching about that one.”

Incidentally UFC 115 was a bad night for the refs. Tony Williamson stopped and restarted Ricardo Funch vs. Claude Patrick when he ruled Funch threw an illegal kick to Patrick’s face when he was trying to escape an armbar attempt. Yves Lavigne then incorrectly stopped Mac Danzig versus Matt Wiman. Lavigne shook Danzig’s arm and got no response, which led to the stoppage, whereas the left side of Danzig’s neck was in the clear and he was catching his breath and pondering his next move. Both fighters showed class and tact in what was an honest mistake and certainly not the egregious error Lavigne made at UFC 98 when his quick trigger cost Phillipe Nover his bout with Kyle Bradley.

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Props to my Heavy.com colleagues Mitch Ciccarelli and Nate Lawson for having me as a guest on Punchers Chance Radio to break down Saturday’s Ultimate Finale. This is a loaded show free on Spike and headlined by TUF alums Matt Hamill against Keith Jardine. I interviewed Hamill and his trainer, Duff Holmes, exclusively for Heavy during which Holmes explains why the Hammer has yet to peak and that the “victory” over Jon Jones “pissed him off.” It’s a big fight for Hamill to take a big step in the light-heavyweight division, but vital for the Dean of Mean to walk away with a win or face possible UFC extinction.

Follow Jon Lane on Twitter @MMAJunkieJon.

Spike TV, TUF (The Ultimate Fighter), UFC 115, Vancouver