Tag: rich franklin

UFC Head-to-Toe Breakdown: Wanderlei Silva vs. Rich Franklin

Regardless of the tepid fan reception surrounding UFC 147, Wanderlei Silva will take on Rich Franklin in a rematch of their 2009 battle, which Franklin won by unanimous decision. The griping has much more to do with the fact that this fight is being so…

Regardless of the tepid fan reception surrounding UFC 147, Wanderlei Silva will take on Rich Franklin in a rematch of their 2009 battle, which Franklin won by unanimous decision.

The griping has much more to do with the fact that this fight is being sold as the main event of a pay-per-view, which makes the grumbling understandable, than its entertainment value, which is substantial, despite any supplementary considerations.

Their first fight was an entertaining affair that won Fight of the Night honors. This one should be no different. The only problem with it is that it has about zero significance value. It’s a rematch of a fight that wasn’t controversial. It’s being contested, again, at a catchweight. With Franklin at 37 and Wandy at 35, with about 10 times that in fight years between the two of these warriors, neither guy is seriously thought to ever contend for a title again.

People are apprehensive about dropping $50 for anything other than a stellar card. In the No. 3 or 4 spots, even the co-main slot, this wouldn’t be an issue. But as a main event, it’s a rough sell for the UFC.

But that’s just analytical stuff.

Let us, as fans, view this fight through the proper lens. Take the glitz and glamour out of it. Forget about title shots, main events and even divisional relevance. We must do that to truly appreciate this fight because those things have gotten in the way and marred its worth. And that worth is easier to see when you look at this fight for what it is: two MMA stars, albeit aged stars, but still, two fighters who’ve given us their all over the years and produced some epic battles.

Let’s take a look at how they stack up.

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10 UFC Records That We Want to See Broken

How do you determine the best of the best? Do you look at their competitive records? Do you look at their title runs? Do you look at the quality of opposition?There are a lot of statistics in mixed martial arts that have prompted fans to have tremendou…

How do you determine the best of the best? Do you look at their competitive records? Do you look at their title runs? Do you look at the quality of opposition?

There are a lot of statistics in mixed martial arts that have prompted fans to have tremendous debates regarding everything from the best knockout artist of all time to the worst weight cutter. Oftentimes, those fans will point to the record books to help make their cases.

For that reason, we here at Bleacher Report MMA have decided to open the record books and see which feats of inhuman ability are most impressive.

Today, we look at the 10 UFC records that fans want to see broken.

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And the Plague Continues: TUF Brazil Finalist Daniel Sarafian Injured, Out of UFC 147


(Wanderlei Silva, seen here mirroring the feelings of everyone who purchased a ticket for any UFC event this summer.) 

The tales of UFC 147–UFC 149 are not unlike the tale of Meg Ryan. What started off as a moderately attractive, if not rather inviting group of cards, has undergone so many face lifts and botched botox injections that they have been left a hollowed, sun-dried husk of what it once was. It has gotten so bad, in fact, that most of us can’t even recognize the frumpy, blonde haired cards we fell in love with in the first place and now must resort to faking it. “It” being interest.

So you’ll forgive our apathy as we inform you that TUF: Brazil finalist Daniel Sarafian has been forced to withdraw from his matchup with fellow finalist Cezar “Mutante” Ferreira less than a week out from UFC 147. UFC.com broke the news:

The Ultimate Fighter Brazil® middleweight favorite Daniel Sarafian, who earned a spot in the finals with an impressive flying-knee knockout, has been injured and cannot compete in this Saturday’s UFC® 147: Silva vs. Franklin II.

More from this story and the tattered remains of the UFC 147 fight card are after the jump.


(Wanderlei Silva, seen here mirroring the feelings of everyone who purchased a ticket for any UFC event this summer.) 

The tales of UFC 147–UFC 149 are not unlike the tale of Meg Ryan. What started off as a moderately attractive, if not rather inviting group of cards, has undergone so many face lifts and botched botox injections that they have been left a hollowed, sun-dried husk of what it once was. It has gotten so bad, in fact, that most of us can’t even recognize the frumpy, blonde haired cards we fell in love with in the first place and now must resort to faking it. “It” being interest.

So you’ll forgive our apathy as we inform you that TUF: Brazil finalist Daniel Sarafian has been forced to withdraw from his matchup with fellow finalist Cezar “Mutante” Ferreira less than a week out from UFC 147. UFC.com broke the news:

The Ultimate Fighter Brazil® middleweight favorite Daniel Sarafian, who earned a spot in the finals with an impressive flying-knee knockout, has been injured and cannot compete in this Saturday’s UFC® 147: Silva vs. Franklin II.

Stepping in for Sarafian at the Finale will be jiu-jitsu expert Sergio “Serginho” Moraes, a Team Vitor prospect who was switched to Team Wanderlei mid-season and made it to the semifinals. Moraes will now face coach Vitor Belfort‘s protege Cezar “Mutante” Ferreira in a three-round bout to determine the first-ever middleweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil®.

The featherweight finals will feature Rony “Jason” Mariano Bezerra of Team Wanderlei fighting teammate GodoFredo Pepey, who also started out on Team Vitor.

So, as of this moment, UFC 147 is basically a glorified TUF Finale card…that now lacks both the original matchup between the show’s coaches and the original matchup to determine one of the winners of said TUF season. But, fret not, the featherweight final match will still go down as scheduled. So there’s that.

Since we’re obviously past the point where we can do a fight picking type contest for you guys, does anyone wanna take a swing at how low UFC 147′s PPV numbers will be? Because we’re guessing one level below piss poor.

Here’s the remaining lineup for those of you who give two shits.

Main card:
Rich Frankin vs. Wanderlei Silva
Cezar “Mutante” Ferreira vs. Sergio “Serginho” Moraes (“TUF: Brazil” middleweight final)
Rony “Jason” Mariano Bezerra vs. Godofredo “Pepey” de Oliveira (“TUF: Brazil” featherweight final)
Mike Russow vs. Fabricio Werdum
Yuri Alcantara vs. Hacran Dias

Preliminary card:
Rodrigo Damm vs. Anistavio “Gasparzinho” Medeiros
Francisco “Massaranduba” Drinaldo vs. Delson “Pe de Chumbo” Heleno
John “Macapa” Teixeira vs. Hugo “Wolverine” Viana
Leonardo “Macarrao” Mafra Teixeira vs. Thiago de Oliveira Perpetuo
Marcos Vinicius “Vina” Borges Pancini vs. Wagner “Galeto” Campos
Felipe Arantes vs. Milton Vieira

–J. Jones

‘UFC 147: Silva vs Franklin 2? Extended Video Preview

(Props: YouTube.com/UFC)

UFC 147’s replacement main event may seem like a re-tread of an old classic, but it’s the little differences, y’know? First off, Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva will be fighting a five-rounder this time, which could affect their pace and game-plans, and allows each man more time to secure a finish.

Second, unlike their first meeting at 195 pounds, this one will happen slightly lower down the catchweight scale at 190. While that won’t matter much to Silva, who’s been competing at middleweight for the last two years, it’ll be the first time Franklin has had to fight below 195 pounds since he beat up Travis Lutter in 2008.

And of course, Silva vs. Franklin 2 will go down in Silva’s home country of Brazil, whereas their first fight at UFC 99 took place in the neutral territory of Cologne, Germany. Add up enough minor differences, and the tenor of the fight could change drastically. Franklin is a slightly heavier favorite over Wandy going into this fight (-155) as he was going into their last one (-140). Should he be?

As for the other fight on this card that you halfway-care about…


(Props: YouTube.com/UFC)

UFC 147′s replacement main event may seem like a re-tread of an old classic, but it’s the little differences, y’know? First off, Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva will be fighting a five-rounder this time, which could affect their pace and game-plans, and allows each man more time to secure a finish.

Second, unlike their first meeting at 195 pounds, this one will happen slightly lower down the catchweight scale at 190. While that won’t matter much to Silva, who’s been competing at middleweight for the last two years, it’ll be the first time Franklin has had to fight below 195 pounds since he beat up Travis Lutter in 2008.

And of course, Silva vs. Franklin 2 will go down in Silva’s home country of Brazil, whereas their first fight at UFC 99 took place in the neutral territory of Cologne, Germany. Add up enough minor differences, and the tenor of the fight could change drastically. Franklin is a slightly heavier favorite over Wandy going into this fight (-155) as he was going into their last one (-140). Should he be?

As for the other fight on this card that you halfway-care about…

Fabricio Werdum is taking on Mike Russow in a heavyweight feature, and I have to wonder: Is this the moment when the Mike Russow Cinderella story finally comes to an abrupt, violent end? The Chicago cop is now 4-0 in the Octagon, and while a couple of those victories have been impressive — the miracle against Todd Duffee, the satisfying destruction of Jon Madsen — he’s never beaten anybody as seasoned and successful as Werdum. Yes, Russow’s tough, we get it, but will toughness be enough against a jiu-jitsu phenom whose striking is also starting to look deadly? Is this secretly a squash match set up for the entertainment of the Brazilian fans? Russow has never given us a reason to count him out before, but damn, I really don’t like his chances here.

UFC 147: How the UFC Could Have Used Chuck Liddell to Save the PPV Event

Let’s be honest, as much as MMA fans have complained about Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva headlining the upcoming UFC 147 PPV, the event was really dead the moment that Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen were forced to move their middleweight tit…

Let’s be honest, as much as MMA fans have complained about Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva headlining the upcoming UFC 147 PPV, the event was really dead the moment that Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen were forced to move their middleweight title fight to Las Vegas.

Sure, the rematch between Silva and Vitor Belfort was a fun fight between two of the most popular Brazilian fighters in the sport, but it still wasn’t a terribly strong main event and the PPV card was already getting a lot of negative feedback from fans.

When Belfort was forced out of the bout with a hand injury last month, the Internet immediately started to wonder who could possibly take his place.

Alan Belcher was usually the first fighter to come to mind, but “The Talent” was seen walking around in a cast at UFC 146 by several MMA reporters and couldn’t possibly have been ready to fight in time.

It seemed the UFC was out of options until they convinced Franklin, who has stepped up for the company countless times before, to take the fight on short notice against “The Axe Murderer”.

While the rematch between Franklin and Silva is far from a horrible fight, the UFC had one last card they could have played that may not have made the hardcore fans jump for joy, but definitely would have saved the event in terms of marketing and PPV buys.

In case you haven’t guessed, that card was Chuck Liddell.

It seems crazy that the UFC should even consider throwing Liddell into another fight inside the Octagon, especially since he was knocked out in his last three UFC appearances, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

Despite having been retired for almost two years, Liddell remains one of the most popular faces in MMA and considering how fantastic his original bout with Silva was, the rematch wouldn’t be a very hard sell.

“The Iceman” coming back for one last fight to take on the one man that was considered his equal when was in his prime is a story that sells itself, and the casual fans would be sure to bank on their hero going into enemy territory for one last brawl.

For a while Chuck and Wanderlei were crushing every other 205-pound fighter in both the UFC and Pride, and while their eventual fight at UFC 79 more than lived up to expectations, the rematch has all the potential to do the same.

It’s doubtful that Liddell is in any kind of shape to take a fight on less than a months notice, and UFC president Dana White has been pretty clear that Chuck’s days of fighting inside the Octagon are long gone.

But if somehow the kinks could have been worked out it would have been one hell of a main event.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva II & the 9 Least Likely UFC Main Events

As the recent string of injuries have shown us, fight cards are always subject to change. While the main event is occasionally altered, usually a suitable replacement is found. Other times, we are left scratching our head, and wondering how the cards p…

As the recent string of injuries have shown us, fight cards are always subject to change. While the main event is occasionally altered, usually a suitable replacement is found. Other times, we are left scratching our head, and wondering how the cards possibly fell in such a manner.

Did a middle tier fighter end up in the final fight? Was a solid co-main event suddenly bumped into a lackluster main event? Did a late switch-er-roo completely change the top fight of the card?

Here is a look at the nine least likely main events of the Zuffa Era.

For the sake of this article, only pay-per-view fights were considered. Events that aired originally on cable were ruled out.

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