UFC 147 is just around the bend. Set to hit PPV on June 23 from Brazil with the rematch virtually no one asked for Wanderlei Silva vs. Rich Franklin.But the card itself is still worth your money.Sure, Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen was moved to UFC 14…
UFC 147 is just around the bend. Set to hit PPV on June 23 from Brazil with the rematch virtually no one asked for Wanderlei Silva vs. Rich Franklin.
But the card itself is still worth your money.
Sure, Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen was moved to UFC 148. Vitor Belfort got injured. Jose Aldo did not end up defending his championship. And a myriad of other possibilities never worked out, but the show must go on.
Silva will look to settle the score with Franklin and grab consecutive wins for the first time since 2005-2006 in PRIDE. Franklin comes in to save the UFC once again while seeking to remove the discussion about their first close fight with a decisive victory.
While this will not be the stadium show everyone anticipated it still has entertainment value, and I will tell you why you should plop down the money to order the show.
This Sunday, here in America, The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil will be debuting on Fuel TV; just two weeks shy of when coaches Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort were scheduled to face off. But instead, for.
This Sunday, here in America, The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil will be debuting on Fuel TV; just two weeks shy of when coaches Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort were scheduled to face off. But instead, for yet the fourth time out of the past six seasons, that fight’s not going to happen (but that’s another article for another day). Now the UFC 147 main event will be Wanderlei Silva versus Rich Franklin. Two future Hall of Famers going to war in a five round Fight of the Night rematch from three years past, sounds pretty great doesn’t it? Until you look at the facts and how this is just the latest in a long line of disappointments and changes made to the upcoming UFC: Brazil show.
In one corner we have TUF: Brazil coach ‘the Axe Murderer’ Wanderlei Silva. Who following his UFC 99 loss to Rich Franklin, announced he would be out of action for a while to undergo facial surgery. A scar tissue removal surgery which he desperately needed to repair an oft-broken nose and avoid being easily cut open for future fights, which in the end resulted in a 30% increase in his oxygen intake for his February 2010 middleweight debut against Michael Bisping. A matchup Silva was the Vegas favorite in, (despite only winning one of his last six fights). And after three well contested rounds, Silva wound up getting the win by unanimous decision (his first victory in nearly two years). Yet soon after he would be break three ribs training for a fight against Yoshiro Akiyama, follow that with knee surgery, and in the end wouldn’t be seen in the octagon again until UFC 132 against Chris Leben. An embarrassing 27 second TKO loss that would leave Dana White stating in his opinion, Wanderlei should hang it up. Yet just four months later Silva was given another chance to prove himself, with a thrilling second round TKO victory over Cung Le earning him his third Fight of the Night honor.
And in the blue corner, ever the company man, Rich ‘Ace’ Franklin has again answered the call and will be returning earlier than expected from shoulder surgery to fill in for yet another injured TUF coach. Ironically Franklin followed his UFC 99 victory with a loss to Vitor Belfort. Before stepping in to coach the last two weeks of The Ultimate Fighter for a released Tito Ortiz and knocking out Chuck Liddell with a broken arm. Before going on to lose by unanimous decision to Forrest Griffin, and being out of action ever since.
All leading Sportsbook to open the odds at
Wanderlei Silva -145
And Rich Franklin + 115
While it is always fun to see two legends slug it out in the octagon, with both fighters past their prime and out of title contention, in the end this bout is pointless.
Which is probably the reason the coaches’ battle was originally scheduled to be the co-main event, underneath the Anderson Silva Middleweight title defense. Call it simple fight hype, or Chael Sonnen’s brilliant marketing, either way his death threats were able to get their fight relocated to Las Vegas at UFC 148. So how do the more than 12 million weekly Brazilians who tuned in to The Ultimate Fighter get rewarded? After that, and moving the show to Belo Horizonte, the UFC further dissed the Brazilian faithful by refusing to bump up Jose Aldo’s title defense two shows, leaving them with only one other top-name fighter Fabricio Werdum to cheer for. Bottom line: no Jose Aldo, no Anderson Silva, no Junior Dos Santos, and neither Nogueira, Brazil deserves better.
Originally slated to face off against Cung Le at UFC 148, middleweight, light heavyweight and catchweight UFC veteran Rich Franklin has agreed to slide into UFC 147’s main event and have a rematch with Brazilian legend Wanderlei Silva, according to ESP…
Originally slated to face off against Cung Le at UFC 148, middleweight, light heavyweight and catchweight UFC veteran Rich Franklin has agreed to slide into UFC 147’s main event and have a rematch with Brazilian legend Wanderlei Silva, according to ESPN.
Franklin and Silva first faced off back in June of 2009 when Franklin earned the nod from all three judges in a relatively close contest.
Since that time, both guys have amassed just three fights each with Silva going 2-1 and Franklin going 1-2.
Franklin supplants an injured Vitor Belfort as half of the night’s main attraction and will look to successfully return to the 185-pound division after mixing it up at 205, most recently with Forrest Griffin.
Though ready to return to the division that he once ruled over, Franklin is less than certain a second tussle with Silva is the best thing for him.
“Initially, I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to fill in this spot. I was in Singapore on the complete opposite side of the earth preparing for a specific kind of opponent. My prep was cut 2 weeks, and I had to get on a plane IMMEDIATELY to come home and make adjustments necessary.
“I’ve been home a day and a half, and we have yet to do a tape breakdown on Wand again. That’s like night and day. Southpaw to Conventional, aggressive vs. passive, and their styles are completely different.”
The logistical complications Franklin faces in returning to the United States in order to properly prep for Silva are doubly troublesome when you consider that his purpose for being in Singapore in the first place was to train against sparring partners capable of replicating Cung Le’s style.
While the opponent swap is understandably frustrating for Franklin, the UFC veteran is taking it in stride.
“I’ve learned not to try to predict my future opponents in this sport,” he told BJPenn.com.
On the bright side, the move to main event only heightens the importance of the fight for Rich, and a win in a main event is never a bad thing to put on a resume.
UFC 147 is set for June 23 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Rematches are put together for a variety of reasons: A super close fight requires a do-over. A bad decision where one fighter clearly gets robbed is also a good reason. Sometimes injuries plague a card and sheer necessity takes over. And sometimes it’s…
Rematches are put together for a variety of reasons: A super close fight requires a do-over. A bad decision where one fighter clearly gets robbed is also a good reason. Sometimes injuries plague a card and sheer necessity takes over. And sometimes it’s just a mystery.
The latter two reasons come into play when discussing Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin and Wanderlei Silva vs. Rich Franklin.
In the case of Wandy and Franklin, necessity took over. Originally scheduled to be Wandy vs. Vitor Belfort, the bout took a hit when Vitor went down with a hand injury. The two had coached opposite one another on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil, and were to have a rematch of their 1998 fight, which saw Vitor starch Wandy in only 44 seconds.
Rich Franklin, the consummate company man who was scheduled to face Cung Le, didn’t hesitate when the UFC called him to step up, yet again, to save the day. He’ll now face Silva in a rematch of their 2009 catchweight fight that Franklin won by unanimous decision.
It’s not that it’s a bad fight. The first one was an entertaining affair that won Fight of the Night honors. It’s just that it’s a pointless fight, especially as the main event.
It’s being contested at a catchweight, again, which doesn’t exactly help its lack of validity. It simply has no divisional relevance, which should be the first consideration of any non-title main event.
Tito vs. Forrest is actually a rubber match. Tito took the first one back in 2006, and Forrest took the next one three years later. Both wins were split decisions.
If you weren’t privy to the fine print you might think this makes for a fine narrative for a trilogy.
Not so much.
This is Tito’s retirement fight, or so he’s announced. Declaring a retirement before a fight immediately renders that fight meaningless because it matters nil who wins or loses. It’s a move born out of financial gain—the logic being more people will be compelled to buy knowing it’s Tito’s last fight.
And that’s fine. Tito is a legend of the sport. Certainly he’s earned the right to dictate how he goes out. But that doesn’t make the fight any more meaningful.
Forrest, well, he just doesn’t seem too interested in fighting anymore.
Still though, it’s a decent scrap that’s occupying the number three spot on a very stacked card, so it’s not like this one fight is carrying the event.
Wandy and Franklin are the main show on an extremely lackluster card that is criminally being offered as a pay-per-view.
Granted, the UFC deserves credit for finding a suitable replacement on such short notice. Injuries are common and something they have no control over. But with a co-main event of Fabricio Werdum vs. Mike Russow, this card is severely lacking in attraction.
For that fact alone, the Wandy vs. Franklin fight is hands down the more useless rematch.
(This one is for The Number 23, and the next one is for that God damn penguin movie!)
Yep, that’s right. None other than former middleweight champion Rich “Ace” Franklin will be the man to fill in for Vitor Belfort against Wanderlei Silva in the main event of UFC 147. The fight will be contested at a catchweight of 190 pounds. Sound familiar? That might be because these two met at UFC 99 back in June of 2009 at a catchweight of just five pounds heavier (a.k.a Rumbleweight, Franklinweight, Moneyweight, or 195 lbs.). The fight was an action packed affair that saw “Ace” emerge victorious by way of unanimous decision.
Though this matchup will more than likely make for an exciting fight (being that their first scrap took home FOTN honors), we may be looking at the possibility of UFC 147 being demoted from a pay-per-view to a free card at this point. And here’s why.
(This one is for The Number 23, and the next one is for that God damn penguin movie!)
Yep, that’s right. None other than former middleweight champion Rich “Ace” Franklin will be the man to fill in for Vitor Belfort against Wanderlei Silva in the main event of UFC 147. The fight will be contested at a catchweight of 190 pounds. Sound familiar? That might be because these two met at UFC 99 back in June of 2009 at a catchweight of just five pounds heavier (a.k.a Rumbleweight, Franklinweight, Moneyweight, or 195 lbs.). The fight was an action packed affair that saw “Ace” emerge victorious by way of unanimous decision.
Though this matchup will more than likely make for an exciting fight (being that their first scrap took home FOTN honors), we may be looking at the possibility of UFC 147 being demoted from a pay-per-view to a free card at this point. And here’s why.
Sign #1: The card, or lack thereof
First, let’s take a look at the card as it stands. Which is to say, barely. The only announced matchups are as follows.
Other scheduled bouts:
TUF: Brazil featherweight finals
TUF: Brazil Middleweight finals Mike Russow vs. Fabricio Werdum
Felipe Arantes vs. Milton Vieira
Yuri Alcantara vs. Hacran Dias
Aside from a pair of fights that will determine the TUF: Brazil winners, we have a couple of fights featuring names that only the hardcore fans will even recognize *cough* Milton Vieira *cough* and a likely co-headliner of Werdum vs. Russow. Whoop-dee-fucking-doo. Although Werdum looked nothing short of outstanding his last time around, the same can not be said for Russow. Yes, the kid is on a ridiculous 11-fight win streak, including four straight in the UFC, but in terms of drawing power, he is still very low on the heavyweight totem pole. Plus, his previous victories over anyone not named Todd Duffee were boring as shit. And besides, even the finales of American TUF seasons are relegated to free cards. Now that UFC 147 lacks even the drawing power of its original coaches, we see no reason why the UFC would think this card is worthy of a PPV buy.
Sign #2 – Relevance
Look, we love Wandy and Ace. In fact, this match, as with their first, is one of those fights where we don’t want to see either guy lose, unless it’s by way of some insane windmill-style knockout, of course. But let’s be real here, nothing short of a Kurt Russell miracle would have to happen for either of these guys to come anywhere close to the middleweight belt. Even though this fight is at catchweight, 185 is where both men will be calling their home for the time being, and probably until they call it quits.
Anderson Silva gave Franklin a permanent black eye and enough nightmares to make a WW2 vet stir in his sleep in their pair of fights, and Wanderlei only delayed a forced retirement by beating Cung Le last November. To think that either of these guys are the next threat to Anderson is not only ludicrous, it’s downright laughable. Franklin most recently dropped a UD to Forrest Griffin at UFC 126, and considering how FoGriff fared against Anderson, we can use the power of MMA math to determine that Silva might just beat Franklin to death were they to meet again. This is not meant as a knock on either man’s career, but rather an accurate assessment of why no one will be forking over 50 dollars for a card headlined by such a matchup.
Sign #3 – It’s in a foreign country
OK, so this one’s a bit of a stretch, but it seems that even when a card falls apart in the good old US of A, the UFC seems reluctant to admit defeat and just give away a card to the people. On the other hand, can you remember the last time a card that aired in London wasn’t free? Neither can we. As of now, UFC 147 is scheduled to go down at the Estádio Jornalista Felipe Drumond in Belo Horizonte, Brazil and has already switched venues to make way for that pesky UN. All we’re saying is: mediocre card + foreign country = Fight Night in the making.
Sign #4 – Dana White has yet to make up for UFC 112
We haven’t forgotten your promise, DW. Now throw a couple more decent fights on this card and we can all forget the absolute turd that was Silva vs. Maia. Chop-chop.
So who’s stoked enough to shell out their hard earned cash on this one? To those of you who answered that last question with an emphatic “ME!”, can we borrow fifty bucks?
There are plenty of big UFC events coming up in the summer and fall months.The biggest of the year, at least out of events that are currently planned, takes place in early July when Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen hook up in the most anticipated rematc…
There are plenty of big UFC events coming up in the summer and fall months.
The biggest of the year, at least out of events that are currently planned, takes place in early July when Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen hook up in the most anticipated rematch in UFC history. And then there’s the Jon Jones vs. Dan Henderson fight on September 1st; you can’t tell me you aren’t looking forward to that one, if only to see how the ageless wonder fares against one of the most talented fighters in the world.
Unfortunately, UFC 147 is not one of those anticipated events.
When it was first booked, UFC 147 looked like another major Brazil offering from the UFC. It was going to take place in a giant soccer stadium and would feature Silva going for revenge against the trash-talking Sonnen in front of his own countrymen. But issues with noise ordinances in Sao Paulo forced the event to move back to Rio de Janeiro. Then a United Nations summit put the kibosh on the soccer stadium concept.
And so Silva vs. Sonnen was moved to UFC 148 in Las Vegas, and Wanderlei Silva vs. Vitor Belfort was announced as the new main event for UFC 147.
Silva vs. Belfort wasn’t a gigantic fight, by any means, but it had plenty of intrigue. The two coaches on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil developed some true bad blood while filming the show, and while it didn’t have the cachet of a Silva-Sonnen rematch, it was still a decent enough main event.
But then Belfort broke his hand, forcing him out of the fight and into the operating room.
The UFC looked long and hard for a replacement for Belfort. Most of the bigger-name fighters in the middleweight division already have fights booked, so they started looking at the light heavyweight division. What they ultimately found was an old, reliable light heavyweight who was planning on moving back to middleweight to face Cung Le at UFC 148: former middleweight champion Rich Franklin.
A rematch between Silva and Franklin isn’t the greatest main event in UFC history, but it’s not the worst. Not by a long shot. The first fight—which took place way back at UFC 99—was a fun bout between two experienced veterans. I think the rematch will be more of the same.
Another interesting aspect to the fight: It’s a 190-pound catchweight bout. Off the top of my head, it will be the first 190-pound fight in UFC history. We’ve seen Franklin compete in numerous 195-pound catchweight bouts—his first bout with Silva was contested at that weight, in fact—but never 190. When the first fight happened, Franklin was in the process of moving up to light heavyweight after seeing his middleweight future dimmed by two consecutive losses to Anderson Silva.
This time around, Franklin is on his way back down to the middleweight division he once ruled with an iron fist, while Wanderlei is already competing at middleweight. With less than a month to go until the fight, asking Franklin to get down to 185 would be quite the stretch, so 190 makes a lot of sense.
UFC 147 isn’t going to light the world on fire. It’s short on name value, long on untested Brazilian prospects, and with a co-main event of Fabricio Werdum vs. Mike Russow. But the UFC is making the best of a bad situation, and Franklin is once again proving that he’s willing to help his long-time employers out whenever he can. And Silva vs. Franklin 2 may not mean much for the future of the middleweight division, but I’m looking forward to it all the same.
Originally slated to face off against Cung Le at UFC 148, middleweight, light heavyweight and catchweight UFC veteran 
Rematches are put together for a variety of reasons: A super close fight requires a do-over. A bad decision where one fighter clearly gets robbed is also a good reason. Sometimes injuries plague a card and sheer necessity takes over. And sometimes it’s just a mystery.
