Last night, Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva battled in an exciting rematch that saw Franklin best The Axe Murderer through five rounds of action. Although the battle was technically a catchweight contest, it was only due to the short notice on w…
Last night, Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva battled in an exciting rematch that saw Franklin best The Axe Murderer through five rounds of action.
Although the battle was technically a catchweight contest, it was only due to the short notice on which Franklin accepted the fight. Franklin is returning to the division where he won his UFC championship, so this fight had a significant impact in the rankings.
Where does Franklin stand in the ever-growing UFC middleweight division?
Here’s a look at the top 10 middleweights in the UFC.
During UFC 147’s fight of the night, Wanderlei Silva proved he still has something left in the tank. But that doesn’t mean he should wait until he hits “empty” to retire.Mad Dog must end his career while he still has a sufficient number of brain cells….
During UFC 147‘s fight of the night, Wanderlei Silva proved he still has something left in the tank. But that doesn’t mean he should wait until he hits “empty” to retire.
Mad Dog must end his career while he still has a sufficient number of brain cells.
Despite the loss against Rich Franklin on Saturday night, Silva showed some of that impressive power that has helped him collect 24 knockouts in the past, including the knockout of the year in 2008.
But it wasn’t enough, and therein lies the problem: The absolute top of his game wasn’t enough and wasn’t even sustainable.
Yes, The Axe Murderer dropped Franklin in the second round and came very close to knocking him out, but when he failed to accomplish that, it was all but over. Via Brian Knapp of Sherdog.com:
“At the end of the second round, I really thought I was going to be able to knock him out,” he said. “I really wanted to, but I’m sorry I wasn’t able to. Yes, I did. I think [I punched myself out in round two]. I pushed it a bit too much, but I really wanted to knock him out. I just want to thank the crowd, because I fight for you. My fans are who I do this for.”
The fact that Silva ran out of steam in the second round is a sign that the 35-year-old might want to call it quits sooner rather than later.
Silva has lost seven of his last 10 fights and four of his last six. His only knockout in the last three years came against 39-year-old Cung Le.
The power potential is still there for Mad Dog, but he doesn’t have the explosiveness to continue to be the exciting force he was in the early- and mid-2000s.
For the record, I believe that Silva will take on one or two more opponents before Dana White finally pulls the plug on him.
But if he were smart, The Axe Murderer would simply shut it down right now.
He has proved all he needs to prove during his magnificent career, but after losing in his home country, it’s clear Silva isn’t the man he used to be.
When you continue fighting at less than full strength, that’s when injuries start to happen.
While Wanderlei Silva certainly can continue his UFC career, it wouldn’t be smart and it wouldn’t be necessary.
Rich Franklin is the only one who won’t remember Saturday.The former math teacher that swapped his calculator for a punching bag turned into a punching bag in the second-round of UFC 147. Wanderlei Silva nearly knocked out Franklin, but the Ameri…
Rich Franklin is the only one who won’t remember Saturday.
The former math teacher that swapped his calculator for a punching bag turned into a punching bag in the second-round of UFC 147. Wanderlei Silva nearly knocked out Franklin, but the American refused to lose. His ability to endure Silva’s onslaught proves that he still has plenty of fights left in him.
Franklin didn’t need a calculator to figure out that the odds were stacked against him before the fight even began. He faced off against Silva in Brazil, The Axe Murderer’s home country. Combine that with the fact that Franklin wasn’t even supposed to be in the octagon—he was scheduled to take on Cung Le in UFC 148 until an injury prevented Vitor Belfort from fighting Silva and Franklin stepped up as the replacement—and it looked like Silva was in position to get revenge for his 2009 loss vs. Franklin.
Following a flurry of second-round blows, Franklin’s odds weren’t improving. But he battled back, avoided a knock out and earned a victory by unanimous decision from the judges.
Kevin Richardson of the Baltimore Sun reported that Franklin admitted that his memory was cloudy after surviving Silva’s beating. He said after his triumph:
Honestly, I don’t remember between the second and fifth rounds. I just remember my corner man saying it was the fifth round. When that kinds of stuff happens, you remember bits and pieces. My coach told me not to get greedy, to pick my punches. I thought I did a good job of that. I was operating on autopilot.
Despite ending Chuck Liddell’s career just over two years ago, Franklin’s ability to stay on top of the UFC world was anything but certain before his latest W. He was coming off a loss to Forrest Griffin, and another letdown would’ve given him four losses in his last seven fights. But Franklin’s display of a granite chin and unmatched determination will maintain his standing as a UFC asset even at 37 years old.
David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.
Put into a position where they had nothing to lose, Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva put on a great show to cap off UFC 147. Both men fought their hearts out and in the end, Franklin once again found his hand raised. The main event of UFC 147 was orig…
Put into a position where they had nothing to lose, Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva put on a great show to cap off UFC 147. Both men fought their hearts out and in the end, Franklin once again found his hand raised.
The main event of UFC 147 was originally slated to be a contest between Silva and Vitor Belfort but Franklin stepped in to replace an injured Belfort. While fans complained about having to pay for a rather lackluster PPV on paper, both Franklin and Silva gave fans their money’s worth.
While fans are talking about Silva retiring, Franklin finds himself in an interesting position following his victory. He’s faced a who’s-who of former champions in the past few years but isn’t on anyone’s title contender list.
At 37, a title run isn’t likely for Franklin’s career plans but that doesn’t mean “Ace” will be stuck fighting a bunch of no-names in the future.
(At UFC 147 Rich Franklin proved that he could survive even the most brutal of hair cuts and go on to win in impressive fashion)
Sometimes, while covering an event, the perfect story book ending intersects with what a writer personally wants to see happen. But most of the time, it doesn’t. At UFC 147, it nearly did, sort of.
It is time I stop hiding it because you’d undoubtedly see through me at some point, potato nation – I am a huge Wanderlei Silva fan. If he’s not my all-time emotional favorite, he’s no worse than at the 3 spot. As such, I enjoyed seeing him tear fighters apart as Pride contender and champion and, for the past six years, have watched him fight with more and more trepidation each time out, worried that the brain damage he’s sure to have accrued over two decades of professional fighting was growing with each knock out loss or even hard punch landed to his tattooed dome.
But even when a slugger’s reflexes have slowed and their chin softened, their power stays with them. So, since Wanderlei insisted on continuing to fight, and he took on Rich Franklin in the main event of last night’s UFC 147, I secretly hoped that Wand could stay safe on the feet long enough to land a bomb of his own and put Franklin out.
What a note that would be to go out on for Silva – returning to his home country to fight for the first time in twelve years, as a legend and champion, and avenging a loss in dramatic fashion in front of the largest indoor stadium crowd in Brazil. Perhaps then Wand could be convinced to retire and move on to an ambassador role for the surging sport and UFC organization in Brazil and across the globe.
I didn’t think any part of that scenario was likely, the playing it strategic and safe, the winning, the retiring, but I hoped. However, the Wanderlei Silva we saw Saturday night was much better than any we’d seen in some time and he nearly toppled Franklin before ultimately losing a unanimous decision.
(At UFC 147 Rich Franklin proved that he could survive even the most brutal of hair cuts and go on to win in impressive fashion)
Sometimes, while covering an event, the perfect story book ending intersects with what a writer personally wants to see happen. But most of the time, it doesn’t. At UFC 147, it nearly did, sort of.
It is time I stop hiding it because you’d undoubtedly see through me at some point, potato nation – I am a huge Wanderlei Silva fan. If he’s not my all-time emotional favorite, he’s no worse than at the 3 spot. As such, I enjoyed seeing him tear fighters apart as Pride contender and champion and, for the past six years, have watched him fight with more and more trepidation each time out, worried that the brain damage he’s sure to have accrued over two decades of professional fighting was growing with each knock out loss or even hard punch landed to his tattooed dome.
But even when a slugger’s reflexes have slowed and their chin has softened, their power stays with them. So, since Wanderlei insisted on continuing to fight, and he took on Rich Franklin in the main event of last night’s UFC 147, I secretly hoped that Wand could stay safe on the feet long enough to land a bomb of his own and put Franklin out.
What a note that would be to go out on for Silva – returning to his home country to fight for the first time in twelve years, as a legend and champion, and avenging a loss in dramatic fashion in front of the largest indoor stadium crowd in Brazil. Perhaps then Wand could be convinced to retire and move on to an ambassador role for the surging sport and UFC organization in Brazil and across the globe.
I didn’t think any part of that scenario was likely, the playing it strategic and safe, the winning, the retiring, but I hoped. However, the Wanderlei Silva we saw Saturday night was much better than any we’d seen in some time and he nearly toppled Franklin before ultimately losing a unanimous decision.
It was immediately clear that Wanderlei would bide his time and look for openings as he covered up, moved his head and countered Franklin well in the first round. Hell, Silva even threw and landed the occasional straight punch, jab and moved laterally.
Franklin was getting some shots in, but they weren’t huge ones. Silva, on the other hand, was hitting Franklin on the jaw flush and often, and countering with nice head kicks. Franklin walked through it all, showing ridiculous strength. And then it came – Silva landed a huge punch that stunned Franklin, then knees, then more punches that dropped the former middleweight champ.
Silva showed great top control pressure, and stayed on Franklin as “Ace” covered up and attempted to roll out of danger. Wanderlei, however, landed punch after punch for nearly thirty seconds and Franklin couldn’t get out of the way or get up. With seconds left in the second round it appeared as though Wanderlei was about to win dramatically.
But referee Mario Yamasaki let the fight continue. Even when Franklin couldn’t mount an intelligent defense. Even when Franklin’s hips were flattened out for a few moments and he ate punches while on his belly, face-down on the mat. Yamasaki let the fight continue, and the second round closing horn sounded.
Yamasaki thought that Franklin could continue fighting. It turns out that he was right.
Wanderlei had spent his energy trying to finish the hurt Franklin in the second round and in the third and fourth he just plodded around the cage, trying to breath, while Franklin got his legs back underneath him and scored with crisp punches and one nice body lock to trip takedown. Franklin once again demonstrated the unbelievable toughness, conditioning and precision under duress that he’s become known for over the years, and turned the tide of the fight in his direction.
Still, as Silva rallied in the fifth round it still seemed possible that he’d win. The first round was close, and if the judges scored for him, it seemed likely that should he be able to steal the fifth round, he’d win. After all, any judge would have scored the second 10-8 in favor of Silva, and so a 47-47 draw seemed likely even if Franklin won the 2nd-5th rounds, 10-9.
Silva looked to close the fight hard and bum-rushed Franklin with wide punches. Many of them connected and Franklin backed up while getting tagged over and over. Still, Franklin fired back and in the last second of the round he landed a left that dropped Silva to the mat. Wand popped back up but the damage was done. He was a little too aggressive, perhaps, too reckless.
Turns out it didn’t matter. The judges did not give Wand the first round (totally understandable) but they also only scored the second round 10-9 for him (not understandable). There would be no 47-47 draw. Franklin won a unanimous decision with all three judges having it 49-46 in his favor.
The fight was closer than I thought it would be, and Silva came closer to finishing the fight than his opponent. Each man earned a $65,000 bonus check from UFC President Dana White for Fight of The Night honors.
Wanderlei looked smarter and more durable than he has in a long time against Franklin. That can’t reverse the damage he’s taken as a warrior all these years in training and in fights, often against much larger opponents, however, or change the fact that he should seriously consider retiring for his health.
A draw probably would not have made Silva feel any better and it is just as well that Franklin earned the win after his incredible, gutty performance. Victory and excitement are Wand’s priorities each time out. The former is becoming more and more rare for him but the latter certainly isn’t.
As usual, Silva disappointed no one. He’s always done right by fans. Here’s hoping that he now figures out the next, right move for himself.
Although this weekend had important fights in the lightweight, middleweight and heavyweight divisions, it was a busy weekend for the boys at 145 pounds.On Friday night, top title contender Hatsu Hioki was mysteriously relegated to the Fuel TV prelimina…
Although this weekend had important fights in the lightweight, middleweight and heavyweight divisions, it was a busy weekend for the boys at 145 pounds.
On Friday night, top title contender Hatsu Hioki was mysteriously relegated to the Fuel TV preliminaries against highlight-creator Ricardo Lamas. In any event, it was the most important fight within the division this weekend as Hioki was the No. 2 ranked featherweight in the world heading into the contest.
In other important contests, Ultimate Fighter Ross Pearson took on WEC standout Cub Swanson, TUF: Brazil crowned a featherweight winner, and top prospects Yuri Alcantara and Hacran Dias looked to leave their stamp on the UFC.
All in all, nine featherweight fights took place this weekend, and the competitors showed us why the division is so exciting. With some wiggle room at the bottom, many of the fighters this weekend had an opportunity to make a case for themselves in the rankings.
During 