Tag: UFC 147

Rich Franklin Steps in to Fight Wanderlei Silva at UFC 147

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. 

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MMA Rumors: Rich Franklin to Replace Belfort Against Wanderlei Silva in UFC 147

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.

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5 Reasons UFC 147 Should Be a Free Card

Given the suddenly watered-down feel to UFC 147, Dana White and Co. should really consider doing something unprecedented and make the scheduled pay-per-view a free event.This isn’t a complaint that we aren’t offered enough fights for free—with th…

Given the suddenly watered-down feel to UFC 147, Dana White and Co. should really consider doing something unprecedented and make the scheduled pay-per-view a free event.

This isn’t a complaint that we aren’t offered enough fights for free—with the advent of Facebook fights and free cards appearing on both FX and Fuel TV quite often, the UFC definitely doesn’t owe the fans anymore free fights than we already get.

However, there are some great reasons as to why UFC 147 would be better served as a free fight card for fans to enjoy without laying down their hard-earned cash.

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Vitor Belfort Breaks Hand, Out of UFC 147 Main Event Against Wanderlei Silva


(Looks healthy to me. Rub some dirt on it and suck in that lip, kid. / Photo via @vitorbelfort)

When we finally get around to making our “Ten Top Injury-Cursed MMA Fighters of All Time” list, Vitor Belfort has to be in the top 3 based on the number of marquee fights that have been scrapped due to his horrifically bad luck. The UFC announced over the weekend that Belfort has suffered (another) broken hand in training, and won’t be able to fight Wanderlei Silva in the main event of UFC 147 (June 23rd; Belo Horizonte, Brazil). The event will go on as scheduled, with the Axe Murderer headlining against an opponent to be named later.

This isn’t just awful news for Vitor — it’s even worse news for UFC 147, which was originally supposed to be headlined by the Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen mega-rematch. After that match was moved to Vegas, Jose Aldo was briefly considered for the headlining spot, before his title defense against Erik Koch was made official for UFC 149 in Calgary. The point is, Belfort vs. Silva might not have been enough to carry a pay-per-view in the first place, and now the card is almost completely at square one less than a month before showtime.

So who would you like to see step in against Wanderlei Silva? And should the UFC consider scrapping this card altogether?


(Looks healthy to me. Rub some dirt on it and suck in that lip, kid. / Photo via @vitorbelfort)

When we finally get around to making our “Ten Top Injury-Cursed MMA Fighters of All Time” list, Vitor Belfort has to be in the top 3 based on the number of marquee fights that have been scrapped due to his horrifically bad luck. The UFC announced over the weekend that Belfort has suffered (another) broken hand in training, and won’t be able to fight Wanderlei Silva in the main event of UFC 147 (June 23rd; Belo Horizonte, Brazil). The event will go on as scheduled, with the Axe Murderer headlining against an opponent to be named later.

This isn’t just awful news for Vitor — it’s even worse news for UFC 147, which was originally supposed to be headlined by the Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen mega-rematch. After that match was moved to Vegas, Jose Aldo was briefly considered for the headlining spot, before his title defense against Erik Koch was made official for UFC 149 in Calgary. The point is, Belfort vs. Silva might not have been enough to carry a pay-per-view in the first place, and now the card is almost completely at square one less than a month before showtime.

So who would you like to see step in against Wanderlei Silva? And should the UFC consider scrapping this card altogether?

UFC Announces Brazil’s ‘Mineirinho’ Arena Will Host UFC 147

Let the speculation over UFC 147’s location end.

After a United Nations convention in Rio forced the UFC to change the original venue, the UFC announced that UFC 147 will still take place on June 23 in Brazil. Specifically, Estádio Jornalista Felipe Drumond – commonly refered to as the “Mineirinho” Arena – in the city of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais will house the event.

Mineirinho Arena is the largest indoor arena in Brazil, capable of holding 25,000 people at full capacity.

Needless to say, the UFC is pretty excited about booking the venue. In a press release sent out by the UFC, UFC Managing Director of International Development Marshall Zelaznik issued the following statement: “It is great for our fans and for the UFC to be able to stage events in new parts of Brazil. The UFC is exploding everywhere in the country and Minas Gerais, being the third biggest state in the country, seemed like the perfect place for this.”

UFC 147 will mark the first time that the promotion held an event in Brazil outside of Rio de Janeiro since UFC Brazil was held in Sao Paulo on October 16, 1998.

Let the speculation over UFC 147′s location end.

After a United Nations convention in Rio forced the UFC to change the original venue, the UFC announced that UFC 147 will still take place on June 23 in Brazil. Specifically, Estádio Jornalista Felipe Drumond – commonly referred to as the “Mineirinho” Arena – in the city of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais will house the event.

Mineirinho Arena is the largest indoor arena in Brazil, capable of holding 25,000 people at full capacity.

Needless to say, the UFC is pretty excited about booking the venue. In a press release sent out by the UFC, UFC Managing Director of International Development Marshall Zelaznik issued the following statement: “It is great for our fans and for the UFC to be able to stage events in new parts of Brazil. The UFC is exploding everywhere in the country and Minas Gerais, being the third biggest state in the country, seemed like the perfect place for this.”

UFC 147 will mark the first time that the promotion held an event in Brazil outside of Rio de Janeiro since UFC Brazil was held in Sao Paulo on October 16, 1998.

Unsurprisingly, the event will be heavy on Brazilian talent. With Silva vs. Sonnen II being moved to UFC 148, UFC 147 will now be headlined by a fight between TUF Brazil coaches Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva. The pair initially met at the aforementioned UFC Brazil, as Vitor Belfort knocked out Wanderlei Silva in only 44 seconds. A heavyweight bout between Fabricio Werdum and Mike Russow, as well as the Middleweight and Featherweight Tournament finales from TUF Brazil, are also officially a go for UFC 147.

UFC 147 Relocated to Belo Horizonte in Minas Gerais, Brazil

Well at least that’s settled.After spending the better part of two months searching, UFC 147 has landed a new home, as reported by Tatame.com earlier today.The event was originally supposed to take place in Sao Paulo, but was relocated to Rio de Janeir…

Well at least that’s settled.

After spending the better part of two months searching, UFC 147 has landed a new home, as reported by Tatame.com earlier today.

The event was originally supposed to take place in Sao Paulo, but was relocated to Rio de Janeiro. While this change was met with widespread enthusiasm—largely because UFC 147 was poised to become the largest MMA event in history—that darn United Nations swooped in and snatched up all of Rio’s hotel rooms the same weekend the fights were supposed to happen.

Rather than compete with the UN for the city’s attention, the Zuffa decided to bow out and take the show on the road.

The move to Belo Horizonte means that Brazil will get to keep the event in country, but the preservation of UFC 147 came too late to salvage the Anderson Silva-Chael Sonnen main event, which has been pushed back to UFC 148.

As of now, the card has three confirmed bouts—Milton Vieira vs Felipe Arantes, Fabricio Werdum vs Mike Russow and Vitor Belfort vs Wanderlei Silva. The TUF Brazil championship fight is expected to happen at UFC 147 as well.

Whether or not Belfort-Silva will function as the night’s main event remains to be seen, but the card as a whole needs to be filled out before June 23.

It will be nearly impossible for the promotion to garner the interest they were originally hoping for without Silva-Sonnen on the card, and these lowered expectations are reflected in the venue choice for the show.

UFC 147 will happen at Journalist Felippe Drummond Stadium, which fits about 14,000 people. 

Easier to fill than a soccer stadium, yes. But also less fun to fill. 

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