Another possible bout in the works for the Feb. 5th Super Bowl weekend is a light-heavyweight contest between Forrest Griffin (17-6) and Rich “Ace” Franklin (28-5) as part of the unofficial UFC 127 card.
MMAFighting.com was the first to report news of the bout noting that no agreements have been signed by either fighter “but is the intended direction of the promotion.”
Former UFC light-heavyweight champ, Griffin, last fought in November of last year earning a split decision over Tito Ortiz at UFC 106. The win allowed the original “The Ultimate Fighter” winner erase back-to-back losses to Anderson Silva and Rashad Evans. Griffin has spent much of the year promoting his new latest book “Be Ready When The Sh*t Goes Down: A Survival Guide To The Apocalypse.”
Franklin, a former UFC middleweight champ, has been bouncing between 185 and 205 for the UFC promotion. His last fight was a light-heavyweight bout against Chuck Liddell at UFC 115 where he knocked out the “Iceman” in the first round of their main event bout. “Ace’s” previous two bouts were fought at a catchweight of 195 pounds which included a loss to Vitor Belfort at UFC 103 and a unanimous decision victory over Wanderlei Silva at UFC 99.
Also rumored for the unannounced event are a middleweight title fight between Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort and a light-heavyweight matchup featuring Jon Jones vs. Ryan Bader.