THE CANADIAN PRESS

VANCOUVER -- Claude (The Prince) Patrick took the shine off Ricardo (Golden Boy) Funch but the other two Canadians on the undercard of UFC 115 didn't find the same joy Saturday.

Patrick, a welterweight from Toronto, used a guillotine choke to force a tap-out victory at 1:48 of the second round as UFC made its debut in Vancouver.

"I'm happy with my performance," said Patrick, who needed two chokes to subdue Funch. "I knew I didn't have the choke the first time but I knew it was sunk the second time."

Patrick improved his record 12-1 while Funch, who had his hair decorated with blue and red beads, dropped to 7-2.

A furious rain of punches late in the third round resulted in Carlos (The Natural Born Killer) Condit ripping a late decision from home-town favourite Rory MacDonald. Both fighters were left bleeding after the physical welterweight bout that had the sold out crowd at GM Place on their feet.

The night didn't go well for David (The Crow) Loiseau of Montreal who lost an ugly middleweight fight to (Super) Mario Miranda. The referee stopped the fight at 4:07 of the second in a scheduled three-round bout.

MacDonald of Kelowna, B.C., controlled the first two rounds of his fight and even put Condit on the canvas near the end of the second with a kick to the chest. The 20-year-old walked back to his corner, pumping his fist in the air.

Condit, 26, regrouped in the third. He had MacDonald down and pounded him with blows forcing the referee to end the fight, which brought boos from the crowd.

The win upped Condit's record to 25-5.

"I was taking some good head shots," said MacDonald, who lost for the first time in 11 fights. "I was lost.

"I felt like I was close. I just wasn't confident."

Condit gave the young Canadian credit.

"He's got a great career ahead of him," Condit said.

Miranda, 30, who was making his UFC debut, dominated his fight against Loiseau. Blood poured from a cut on Loiseau's head, staining the blue floor of the Octagon.

Late in the second round the crowd, which earlier had chanted "Canada, Canada" in support of Loiseau, began to boo as the referee allowed the fight to continue. Miranda sat on Loiseau's back and rained down punches until the fight was mercifully stopped.

"To be honest, I thought the ref let it go a bit longer than he should have," said Miranda, who improved his record to 12-1.

Loiseau, 30, is 11-2.

In two other welterweight matches, Mike (Quicksand) Pyle used a triangle choke to score a tap-out win over Jesse (The Ox) Lennox at 4:44 of the third round while James (Lightning) Wilks scored a unanimous decision over Peter Sobotta.

Fans looking for blood were rewarded in the first night's fight.

Pyle, 34, staggered Lennox with a vicious right hand in the first round that left The Ox's face smeared red. Lennox, 28, battled back with a couple strong punches that put Pyle on his guard.

The fight was called at 4:46 of the third round when Pyle wrapped his legs around Lennox.

Pyle's record's improved to 19-7-1 while Lennox falls to 15-3.

The Wilks-Sobotta fight was a tame affair. The loudest cheers came for the women who carried the cards indicating the rounds of the fight.

There were more boos when (Handsome) Matt Wiman's lightweight bout against Mac Danzig was stopped early in the first round.

The referee awarded Wiman the victory 1:25 into the match when he thought Danzig was unconscious. A confused Danzig tried to argue the decision but to no avail.

Ben Rothwell won his heavyweight bout against Gilbert (Hurricane) Yvel in a unanimous decision. That improved his record to 31-7.

Evan Dunham won his lightweight fight against Tyson Griffin in a split decision.

Martin (The Hitman) Kampmann improved his record to 17-3 with a unanimous decision over Paulo Thiago in a welterweight match.

The first ever UFC event in Vancouver drew a sold out crowd to GM Place. All the tickets for the event, which ranged in price from $76 to $601, were sold in 30 minutes making it the fastest sellout ever for the mixed martial arts organization.

Dana White, the UFC president, has already said he wants to return to the city.

Vancouver is the second Canadian city to host a UFC event. Montreal has hosted three cards.

In December, Vancouver city councillors voted six to three to approve a two-year trial period for MMA. Under the pilot program, promoters must ensure the city can't be held liable for damages.

White would not say how much UFC has paid for insurance.