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

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.

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…

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…

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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UFC 147: 5 Fights That Could Make the Card Worthwhile

Chris Lytle, the king of fight night awards, was a guest of MMA Junkie Radio and gave the world an update on his life post-retirement. While in the studio, “Lights Out” was asked if he would ever get back into the Octagon. Here’s the only conditio…

Here’s the only condition in which I’d take a fight. Let’s say it’s about four days out (from a UFC) event, and someone got hurt. And it was the right kind of fight, and they say, ‘We need you Chris.’ Then I might do it because I’m still in pretty good shape. And if I didn’t have to go out and spend all day training, spend time away from my family, I’d do that. I’d hop in last minute. That wouldn’t be too bad. That could be a possibility.

The thought of Lytle getting back into the cage on short notice makes us think about other notable fighters who might be willing to forego a full training camp and throw on a pair of gloves on short notice.

With UFC 147 appearing to be the weakest pay-per-view in recent memory, a late addition to the card could make the event purchase-worthy. Franklin vs. Silva II is a decent main event in a rematch from UFC 99. The current co-main event features top-five heavyweight Fabricio Werdum against once-beaten Mike Russow.

Aside from these contests, the card has no brand-name fighters, nor any ranked fighters of any kind. This makes us wonder if there are any fights that could be booked on short notice that would make the card worth a $45 purchase.

Here’s a look at five fights that are within the realm of possibility and might make the top half of the PPV buyable.

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UFC 147’s Rich Franklin: Fighting Wanderlei Silva Is Like Fighting a Tornado

UFC 147 may not have have the most enticing fight card ever, but the main event between Wanderlei Silva and Rich Franklin could make for a sleeper pick in the 2012 Fight of the Year race.Franklin and Silva will meet for the second time after their firs…

UFC 147 may not have have the most enticing fight card ever, but the main event between Wanderlei Silva and Rich Franklin could make for a sleeper pick in the 2012 Fight of the Year race.

Franklin and Silva will meet for the second time after their first fight saw Franklin win an extremely entertaining 15-minute slug fest at UFC 99.

After being bumped up on the card to the main event, Franklin now looks forward to the rematch in what he expects to be another exciting fight.

“The best way to describe Wanderlei’s fighting style…it would be like fighting a tornado,” Franklin told UFC.com. “As long as you stay away from the tornado, you’re safe. But if you get too close to the tornado, it does damage.”

It does damage, indeed. In his 34 career MMA victories, Silva has finished 24 by way of knockout. Another two came by way of submission due to strikes.

“When you come in, he pulls the trigger, and when he pulls the trigger, things fly,” Franklin continued. “He’s throwing multiple punches with his hands, following up with knees and he’s dangerous.”

Despite Silva’s devastating knockout power, which he displayed in his most recent victory over Cung Le at UFC 139, Franklin believes that he can not only beat the Brazilian in his home own country, but finish the fight this time.

“The best way for me to finish the fight is to not get lazy in the fight and get caught up in his game,” he said. “It’s been 16 months since I’ve been in the Octagon, so I’m excited to fight again. I’m hungry.”

Franklin last competed at UFC 126 against Forrest Griffin.

A string of injuries to himself and his opponents has kept him out of the cage since then, but barring any freak accidents between now an June 23rd, fans will see the return of “Ace” at UFC 147.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

TUF Brazil: A Head-to-Toe Breakdown of the Middleweight Final (Spoiler)

For all those keeping track online at UFC.com, The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil is almost finished, and we have two featherweights ready to fight at the finale. Of course, the finale is UFC 147, headlined by coach Wanderlei Silva and late replace…

For all those keeping track online at UFC.com, The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil is almost finished, and we have two featherweights ready to fight at the finale. Of course, the finale is UFC 147, headlined by coach Wanderlei Silva and late replacement Rich Franklin.

Franklin steps in for Silva’s opposing coach Vitor Belfort, who unfortunately injured his hand recently. Nevertheless, fans will be in for a good fight in the main event.

As for the middleweight tournament final, let’s breakdown the fight, which will be fought between Team Belfort’s Cezar “Mutante” Ferreira (4-2) and Daniel Sarafian (7-2).

Note: The final episode has not aired on UFC.com, but reports with the spoilers were released and have been completely accurate thus far.

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