Rich Franklin moves into dangerous waters
In a recent interview Rich Franklin talked about his move to the 205 weight class. For a guy that was dominant champion then dominated twice by the current champion he is in a tricky spot (UFC 64 Results and UFC 77 Results). Franklin said “So really, I’m stuck in a position of fighting guys who just lost their title shot to Anderson, and it leaves me in a position in the weight class where I don’t have a whole lot to look forward to other than my next fight.” With people that are this competitive it only makes sense that Franklin would want to get out of a weight class that haw a ceiling that doesn’t involve him as the title holder.
Read the rest of this entry »
Georges St. Pierre defeats Matt Serra by TKO in round two
Rich Franklin defeats Travis Lutter by TKO in round two
Michael Bisping defeats Charles McCarthy by TKO in round one
Mac Danzig defeats Mark Bocek by submission in round three
Nate Quarry defeats Kalib Starnes via unanimous decision
Jason MacDonald defeats Joe Doerksen via technical knockout in round two
Jason Day defeats Alan Belcher via technical knockout in round one
Demian Maia defeats Ed Herman via submission (triangle choke) in round two
Rich Clementi defeats Sam Stout via split decision
Cain Velasquez defeats Brad Morris via technical knockout in round one
Jonathan Goulet defeats Kuniyoshi Hironaka via technical knockout in round two
Anderson Silva vs. Rich Franklin (Middle Weight Title Fight)
Who we want win: Anderson Silva
Who we think will win: Anderson Silva
We really like Rich Franklin but he is scared. Ever since his loss to Anderson Silva he hasn’t had the same air of confidence. I remember watching Rich Franklin and not having an ounce of doubt in his ability to win. That same feeling hasn’t been present since Rich Franklin v. Anderson Silva I. Rich is an incredibly strong, powerful fighter, but I don’t think he has an answer for Anderson Silva’s speed and pin point accuracy. Anderson Silva has proved himself in every area of MMA in each fight he has had in the UFC. He broke the iron chin of Chris Leben, he over powered the commanding former champ Franklin, he submitted the submission expert Lutter and over-whelmed the dominator in Nathan Marquardt. He finishes his fight and can end it with one strike. I have seen two of Silva’s losses in other organizations, one was a DQ the other was a freakish scissor kick submission at the end of a fight. The stars are going to have to align for Silva to lose.
Brandon Vera vs. Tim Sylvia
Who we want win: Brandon Vera
Who we think will win: Brandon Vera
Brandon Vera is going to chop down Tim Sylvia like a tree. Tim Sylvia is tall and huge and Brandon Vera has kicks that break legs. Vera will stand outside and throw leg kick after leg kick that Sylvia can’t check because he is slow and too tall to reach down and grab Vera’s legs. Once Vera has made him immobile let the Brandon Vera beat down begin. Tim Sylvia says Vera hasn’t been tested, but Sylvia hasn’t passed any of tests that have been put in front of him. The only reason he stayed around was because he was good at stalling for 5 excruciatingly boring rounds every fight to keep the belt around his waist. He is on par with Arlovski, who dominated the Heavy Weight division when it was weak. Sylvia can barely get past Arlovski, and can beat a guy that is three feet shorter than him, but when faced with a real challenge (Frank Mir? Randy Couture?) he gets dominated. Brandon Vera is legit and is going to pick apart Sylvia.
Unfortunately the only other guaranteed to be broadcast fights aren’t going to make much impact on the contender race. Here is a quick synopsis of those fights.
Eric Schafer vs. Stephan Bonnar
Who we want to win: Stephan Bonnar
Who we think will win: Stephan Bonnar
Schafer’s last fight was against Michael Bisping. Bisping and Bonnar have very similar styles. Bonnar can go the distance in a stand up war and if Schafer wasn’t able to go a round with Bisping he won’t go a fight with Bonnar as long as Stephan shows up to fight.
Alan Belcher vs. Kalib Starnes
Who we want to win: N/A
Who we think will win: Kalib Starnes
Both of these fighters have lost to Yushin Okami. So that should give you some idea of where they are on the contender list. These guys are fighting for about fifth in line for the title. I think Starnes is the greater fighter but neither fighter has posted a win streak of longer than one fight so it is still undecided whether they will ever be a true force in the UFC.
Watch UFC 77: Hostile Territory, Saturday October 20th 7pm PST.
Winner: Rich Franklin – Unanimous Decision 29-28
Rich Franklin walks down to the octagon looking extremely focused. He has a look that was not there when he fought Anderson Silva. He looks like a champion ready to win.
The two fighters come to the center to touch gloves and Okami looks very large. They both take the center of the octagon. No one takes control. Each fighter is feeling each other out. For the first two minutes nothing notable happens. Franklin is throwing more punches and lands one small combo. Franklin pushes a little more and they clinch against the cage. This is where Okami usually overtakes his opponents. Nothing happens from the clinch and McArthy breaks them up. Near the end of the round Rich Franklin lands a hard leg kick. The round as a whole was boring but Franklin was the aggressor and won the round.
They come out again and Okami looks as if he may have a larger sense of urgency. Franklin goes for a couple more leg kicks. Franklin is starting to get more confident and throws a two punch/high kick combo. Okami finally makes an attempt to take Rich Franklin down. Franklin defends and gets double under hooks and pushes Okami against the cage. McArthy lets them maneuver a bit before separating them. Okami lands a good straight right but doesn’t follow. Near the end of the round Franklin lands two good punches on Okami. Franklin may have hurt his hand in the last exchange. Franklin wins the round.
Franklin came in with a hand shake and Okami throws a flying knee and Franklin dodges. Okami gets a clinch and gets a single under hook and takes Franklin down. He gets side control and eventually reaches full mount on Franklin. Rich moves his weight and gets Franklin in to a butterfly guard. Rich gets up but Okami gets Franklin into a guillotine position. Franklin gets out then drops Okami with a slam. They get to their feet again and Franklin almost gets his back but Okami slips Franklin into an arm lock. Franklin was nearly submitted but managed to roll out of danger and then pull out his arm and get into Okami’s guard. The round ends shortly after and solidifies Rich’s win and his future title shot.
There are a lot of people grumbling about the upcoming UFC pay-per-view event, UFC 72 Victory: Rich Franklin vs. Yushin Okami. Some could be upset because at one point this event was said to be free even though there was no official release stating that it would be free. Despite the validity of these claims rumors burn through the internet and eventually become a fact people base things on. So people shouldn’t get upset that this event isn’t free for two reasons. The first reason being that it was never officially intended to be free, and two, this is going to be a really good UFC you just have to know why these fights are going to be good.
The most obvious reason to watch UFC 72 is the main event Rich Frank vs. Yushin Okami. This was initially supposed to be a fight between Rich Franklin and Martin Kampmann, but Kampmann was injured in training. Okami cannot be considered a mere replacement for Kampmann because Okami actually has a longer win streak going and has just recently beaten the rising Mike Swick who had defeated the former number one contender David Loiseau before losing to Okami. Swick could have arguably been the next in line to fight Franklin for the title until Anderson Silva came in and mixed everything up.
Okami is on a huge winning streak and Franklin is returning to his old self as seen in his impressively dominating victory over a talented Jason McDonald. There are many questions still circling around Franklin ever since the beat down he received from Silva, and he needs this fight not only to become the number one contender again, but to prove to everyone and himself that he still has the champion inside of him. Okami needs this win just as badly to give his name some weight in the UFC community and get his title shot that he has been fighting for. There is a lot on the line for these two fighters, which always brings out the best and most exciting fights.
Forrest Griffin vs. Hector Ramirez is an interesting fight. This fight is definitely a follow up fight for Forrest Griffin to his disappointing loss to Keith Jardin to test him. He is an extremely popular fighter and has talent to back it up. I am equating this fight to the Keith Jardin/Houston Alexander fight. The match makers at the UFC wanted to see if Jardin was really as high of a caliber fighter as his win over Griffin said he was, or was it him just getting the better end of the “puncher’s chance”. We all saw what happened with Jardin, but will it be the same with Griffin? I don’t think so and I wouldn’t count Ramirez out either. He is said to have heavy hands and almost submitted James Irvin in his last fight. It is definitely a test for Griffin to see if he has the mental fortitude to return to the top contender status. I think he will and is going to put on a show to prove it, which is why this fight is going to be awesome.
There are also two fights that we are guaranteed to see. Jason McDonald vs. Rory Singer and Clay Guida vs. Tyson Griffin. Jason McDonald vs. Rory Singer is interesting for two reasons. The first reason is that Jason McDonald is known as the “TUF killer”. He ruined Ed Herman’s entry into the UFC as a contract holder and stomped out Chris Leben’s flame that he was trying to reignite. Rory Singer of course is also an Ultimate Fighter alum. So there is pressure to live up to McDonald’s nickname and pressure for Rory to break the streak. Secondly, both of these fighters’ last fights were losses to the main event fighters. This fight means a lot to these two fighters because it is going to be a ranking proving grounds.
The other fight that I mentioned, Clay Guida vs. Tyson Griffin, is going to be awesome based on the fact that they are two extremely explosive 155 pounders. This is easily the most exciting weight class. Clay Guida had an awesome debut at UFC 64: Unstoppable and Tyson Griffin has also had spectacular fights and is responsible for the WEC feather weight champion’s, Urijah Faber, only loss in 20 fights.
So that is why UFC 72 is worth the cash, if this hasn’t convinced you to watch, then tell me why.
