Following UFC 146 this past Saturday night, UFC President Dana White announced that Vitor Belfort had suffered a broken hand in training and was forced to pull out of his UFC 147 bout against Wanderlei Silva. The two had spent time as opposing coaches …
Following UFC 146 this past Saturday night, UFC President Dana White announced that Vitor Belfort had suffered a broken hand in training and was forced to pull out of his UFC 147 bout against Wanderlei Silva. The two had spent time as opposing coaches on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil.
UFC 147 was set to be the culmination of the series, with the two fighters settling their long-time rivalry in the main event.
Silva went on the attack and said that Belfort breaking his hand was disrespectful. Silva’s thought process was that at the highest level, fighters have the best equipment and training available, so there is no reason to suffer any significant injuries while training.
While Vitor has elected to remain quiet, his wife had some harsh words for Silva:
The only thing Wanderlei can do is talk too much, he chickened out several times on fighting Vitor… and now he comes to talk my husband is ducking. If you doubt, the next opponent of Wand in UFC147 will beat the record of 40 sec of Vitor Belfort or Chris Leben 20 seconds hahahaha.
Today, the UFC announced that Rich Franklin will step up and replace the injured Belfort. Franklin was originally scheduled to face Cung Le at UFC 148. Franklin and Silva have met once before at a bout contested at 195 pounds which fans have affectionately called “Franklinweight.” That bout saw Franklin win a hard decision at UFC 99 in Cologne, Germany.
The rematch will be contested at 190 pounds, which from this day forward shall be called “Wanderleight.” Rich Franklin stepping up is the best possible outcome as most middleweight and light heavyweight fighters currently have fights scheduled. The ones that don’t are either injured or lack the name value to step into the main event role.
While I appreciate the UFC’s effort at trying to save UFC 147, I can’t help but feel that a bout between Franklin and Wanderlei lacks any kind of intrigue. There was no controversy in their first fight and both fighters are on the tail end of their storied careers.
I hope that this fight becomes another example of an unremarkable contest on paper becoming a candidate for Fight of the Year, as is usually the case in MMA. I say this because as it currently stands, UFC 147 may be the weakest card the UFC has tried to put together in the past four years.
Time will tell. I just hope that Zuffa is ready to handle detractors who won’t be pleased with this matchup.
According to Adam Martin of The MMA Show, former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin is rumored to being targeted as Vitor Belfort’s replacement on June 23rd at UFC 147 against Wanderlei Silva in Brazil. The Franklin-Silva matchup would be a r…
According to Adam Martin of The MMA Show, former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin is rumored to being targeted as Vitor Belfort’s replacement on June 23rd at UFC 147 against Wanderlei Silva in Brazil.
The Franklin-Silva matchup would be a rematch from UFC 99 which seen Franklin and Silva go toe-to-toe in a Fight of the Night battle that seen Franklin pick up the win by unanimous decision.
The question that remains about this rumor actually coming true is if Franklin will be ready in time, as he is scheduled to face former-Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Cung Le at UFC 148 on July 7th.
UFC 147 is two weeks before Franklin’s scheduled bout, and seeing that Franklin is coming off of an injury and has not fought since February of 2011, it may be difficult for him to speed up his camp to be ready in time for the matchup.
If Franklin is scheduled to face Silva instead of Le, Cung Le would need an opponent for UFC 148 and we could see the likes of Alan Belcher, Tom Lawler, or Ronny Markes step in to fight Le on short notice.
Stay tuned for more details about this rumor and more UFC 147, as well as UFC 148, news.
Whether it’s Jon Jones wanting to move up to heavyweight, or everyone wanting Frankie Edgar to cut to 145, weight-class-shifting is a hot topic for MMA fans and pundits alike. And while we’ve recently covered the perils and benefits of dropping to a lower weight class, the same can be said for moving up in weight. After jumping to heavier divisions, some fighters’ proverbial stars have shined brighter, some have dimmed, and some have gone God-damn-supernova — and it’s never easy to predict which fighters will have success. Check out some notable examples below, and tell us which other fighters you think would do well with some extra meat on their bones.
The Good
Alistair Overeem
(Same guy as above, same backdrop, and yet something is different…)
All insinuations aside, Overeem is a prime example of success at moving up a weight class. As I previously mentioned, Overeem has gone 12-1-1 since making a full commitment to heavyweight, and while the quality of opponents he faced was often questionable, that is still a hell of a good run. If you take a look back at his time at light-heavyweight, the stats are not nearly as impressive. Overeem’s losses usually came at the hands of the light-heavyweight division’s top guys, like Chuck Liddell, Antônio Rogério Nogueira, and Ricardo Arona. His run at light-heavyweight showed that he couldn’t hang with the elites of the respective weight class, and was vulnerable to being manhandled by stronger opponents.
After doing whatever it is he did to bulk up, he turned his fortunes around and achieved the greatest stardom of his career, becoming the poster child for successful jumps up the weight-class ladder. If it wasn’t for some bad decision-making, he would be fighting for the sport’s highest prize this weekend. Here’s to hoping he gets his shit together soon.
Whether it’s Jon Jones wanting to move up to heavyweight, or everyone wanting Frankie Edgar to cut to 145, weight-class-shifting is a hot topic for MMA fans and pundits alike. And while we’ve recently covered the perils and benefits of dropping to a lower weight class, the same can be said for moving up in weight. After jumping to heavier divisions, some fighters’ proverbial stars have shined brighter, some have dimmed, and some have gone God-damn-supernova — and it’s never easy to predict who will have success. Check out some notable examples below, and tell us which other fighters you think would do well with some extra meat on their bones.
The Good
Alistair Overeem
(Same guy as above, same backdrop, and yet something is different…)
All insinuations aside, Overeem is a prime example of success at moving up a weight class. As I previously mentioned, Overeem has gone 12-1-1 since making a full commitment to heavyweight, and while the quality of opponents he faced was often questionable, that is still a hell of a good run. If you take a look back at his time at light-heavyweight, the stats are not nearly as impressive. Overeem’s losses usually came at the hands of the light-heavyweight division’s top guys, like Chuck Liddell, Antônio Rogério Nogueira, and Ricardo Arona. His run at light-heavyweight showed that he couldn’t hang with the elites of the respective weight class, and was vulnerable to being manhandled by stronger opponents.
After doing whatever it is he did to bulk up, he turned his fortunes around and achieved the greatest stardom of his career, becoming the poster child for successful jumps up the weight-class ladder. If it wasn’t for some bad decision-making, he would be fighting for the sport’s highest prize this weekend. Here’s to hoping he gets his shit together soon.
What can be said that already hasn’t been about Captain America? (Sorry Stann, but there’s only room for one in my heart.) A man probably best known for his trilogy at light-heavyweight with Chuck Liddell — oh, and also for being a former interim light-heavyweight champ, and two-time unified light-heavyweight champ — Randy Couture also racked up accolades in the heavyweight division. Kicking off his MMA career by winning the UFC 13 heavyweight tournament in 1997, Randy went on to win the UFC’s heavyweight title three times.
Ten years later, after seven consecutive fights at light-heavyweight and a short lived “retirement,” the 43-year-old legend returned to take on then-heavyweight champ Tim Sylvia. (Note: a little piece of me dies every time I’m forced to mention “Tim Sylvia” and “champion” in the same sentence.) Couture’s dominant win over Sylvia and subsequent title defense against Gabriel Gonzaga were nothing short of inspiring. Randy managed to do what every man who’s experienced a mid-life crisis has only dreamed about. Besides, he also honorably represented the sport of MMA by making James Toney look as foolish as possible at UFC 118. For that alone, he gets a much deserved nod on our list.
Say what you will about Jake’s fighting style (boring as fuck, for the most part), but his move up to middleweight during his run in Strikeforce produced the best possible results. With wins over Robbie Lawler, Mayhem Miller, and Dan Henderson (!), Jake beat every top middleweight Strikeforce could throw at him. Since jumping to the UFC, Shields has dropped back down to 170, and hasn’t fared nearly as well, going 2-2, including a verrrrry questionable win over Martin Kampmann. Damn Jake, maybe you should think about moving back up in weight. Now that we’ve talked about that, can we all agree to never speak of Hendo vs. Shields again?
Motivated, unmotivated, whatever you want to call it, BJ’s career has seen its share of peaks and valleys. But the fact still remains that when the UFC decided to temporarily scrap its 155-pound division in 2003, the Prodigy jumped up to welterweight, and managed to beat five-time defending welterweight champion Matt Hughes in his welterweight debut at UFC 46. Penn then decided to leave the promotion, making short work of Duane Ludwig at K-1 Romanex four months later. This was, of course, before he decided to fight anyone regardless of weight. Hang on, we’ll get to that…
There is one thing that a fighter has little or no defense against, and that is Father Time.Growth in the sport is increasing the opportunity and likelihood of longevity, but a fighter’s career is like a flash that can last only a few years. That’s why…
There is one thing that a fighter has little or no defense against, and that is Father Time.
Growth in the sport is increasing the opportunity and likelihood of longevity, but a fighter’s career is like a flash that can last only a few years. That’s why we cherish those who have battled and endured for a long time.
Make no mistake, fighters like Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz, Matt Hughes and Wanderlei Silva are the exception, not the norm and that’s why we appreciate their careers all that much more.
Father Time has caught up to all of those men through injury, eroding skill and cumulative damage. Eventually, all fighters are faced with that unstoppable and dreaded opponent and here are…
Rich Franklin was the UFC middleweight champion, boasting an incredible record of 22-1-1 after a March 2006 win over David Loiseau. “Ace” seemed like he would dominate the UFC’s 185-pound division for many years to come—that is, until Anderson Si…
Rich Franklin was the UFC middleweight champion, boasting an incredible record of 22-1-1 after a March 2006 win over David Loiseau. “Ace” seemed like he would dominate the UFC’s 185-pound division for many years to come—that is, until Anderson Silva came to town.
Silva defeated Franklin in devastating fashion at UFC 64, and again had his hand raised in the rematch at UFC 77.
Since the second loss to “The Spider,” Franklin hasn’t looked like the dominant force he once was, compiling a record of 4-3 and looking to be in the twilight of his career at 37 years old.
However, if the UFC offered the former high school math teacher a third fight with Silva, don’t expect Franklin to turn it down. Don’t expect him to lacking confidence going into the fight, either.
“If I was able to put another title run together and the UFC wanted to do another fight with Anderson, I would be willing to do another fight with Anderson,” Franklin told MMACanada.net.
“And I believe—and this is just because the champion mentality in my head—but I believe that given another shot, I could win that fight.”
Between his two bouts with the pound-for-pound great, Franklin only managed to survive for slightly over four minutes of action inside the Octagon.
Franklin, who begins speaking around the 2:45 mark of the video, also addresses how his injury rehabilitation has gone, his upcoming UFC 148 bout with Cung Le, and recently being called out by Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.
Rich Franklin believes a third time could be the charm if given another crack at UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva.Donovan Fernandes of MMACanda.net attended the grand opening of MMA World Academy in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, where Franklin was…
Rich Franklin believes a third time could be the charm if given another crack at UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva.
Donovan Fernandes of MMACanda.net attended the grand opening of MMA World Academy in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, where Franklin was hosting a seminar.
After being out of action for over a year with a shoulder injury, the former middleweight champion is eager to step back into the Octagon.
He is slated to make his middleweight return against Cung Le on July 7 at UFC 148.
The bout marks the first time in nearly four years Franklin has fought at 185 pounds, and he is determined to live out his own Cinderella story and make one final push for the UFC title.
“When you start talking about moving down to 185, people automatically start talking about the title. I said in interviews another title run would be a Cinderella story to finish a career. Anybody would say the same thing. It would be great. I got Cung in front of me now, and he’s a tough opponent, and I’ve had a long layoff, so I really have to worry about that first.”
Franklin defeated the late, great Evan Tanner in June 2005 to win the UFC title. After a pair of successful title defenses, Franklin was dethroned by current pound-for-pound kingpin Silva. It marked the beginning of Silva’s reign of terror in the UFC middleweight division.
In October 2007, Franklin was granted a rematch in front of his hometown fans in Cincinnati, Ohio, but it was just a different venue with the same result. Silva punished Franklin before stopping him in the second round to retain the middleweight title.
“If I was able to put a title run together and the UFC wanted to do another fight with Anderson, I would be willing to do another fight with Anderson, and I believe, and this is just because of the champion mentality in my head, but I believe that given another shot I could win that fight.”
“There are a lot of things I would do differently. Some of the stuff we really started incorporating in the second fight, a lot of the clinch defense and all that, it wasn’t as much of a factor in that fight. I was doing a good job with space management and my jab and all that, and unfortunately, I got dropped at the end of that round, I got caught with a hook, and the rest is history.”
How would Franklin fare in a third bout with Silva?
We may never know. Even though he’s confident in his chances against the UFC champ, Franklin has made it clear that he isn’t returning to 185-pounds for another shot at Silva. It’s all about finding a comfortable weight class that gives him the best opportunity to be successful.
“I’m not moving down to 185 and saying my sights are set on Anderson. That’s not what I’m doing here, and I don’t want him to get that impression either because I’m not shooting for him.”
Following UFC 146 this past Saturday night, UFC President Dana White announced that Vitor Belfort had suffered a broken hand in training and was forced to pull out of his UFC 147 bout against Wanderlei Silva. The two had spent time as opposing coaches on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil.
