Nobody’s kidding himself here: Wanderlei Silva vs. Rich Franklin was not a fight that needed to happen or forever curse the matchmakers.
The injury bug has forced us to take substitutes, and the 190-pound matchup, which headlines Saturday’s UFC 147 event, is just such a compromise.
More significant, perhaps, is the finals of the first Brazilian season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” which promises to add several standouts to the UFC’s featherweight and middleweight ranks.