Rich Franklin

UFC 99 Results

Rich Franklin def. Wanderlei Silva - Unanimous Decision
Cain Velasquez def. Cheick Kongo - Unanimous Decision
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic def. Mustapha Al-Turk - TKO Round 1 3:08
Mike Swick def. Ben Saunders - TKO Round 2 2:47
Spencer Fisher def. Caol Uno - Unanimous Decision
Dan Hardy def. Marcus Davis - Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
Terry Etim def. Justin Buchholz - Submission (D’Arce Choke) Round 2
Dennis Siver def. Dale Hartt - Submission (Rear Naked Choke) Round 1
Paul Taylor def. Peter Sobotta - Unanimous Decision
Paul Kelly def. Roli Delgado - Unanimous Decision
Stefan Struve def. Denis Stojnic - Submission (Rear Naked Choke) Round 2
John Hathaway def. Rick Story - Unanimous Decision

Thanks to Sherdog, MMA Weekly and Yahoo! for filling in the results and some details of the earlier bouts.

Quote of the Day: Wanderlei Silva Wants to Bet Anderson on Franklin Fight

“I go to knock him out. I have trained so much and Rich won’t last two rounds. I think it is good Anderson has been preparing him. I hope he is also on the corner. I want to dare him to bet $50,000. I put these amount and Anderson or his sponsors, Ed Soares or Joinha, bet another part. Who wins takes the money.”

Longtime PRIDE middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva tells Fighters Only Magazine that would be willing to bet former training partner Anderson Silva that he will be victorious within two rounds in his catch-weight bout against Rich Franklin at UFC 99 on June 13.

It looks like the war of words between the two Brazilians isn’t going to be ending anytime soon.

Silva: “Franklin Isn’t Training With Me”

Reports circulated earlier this week that former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin would be using the services of an old rival, reigning pound-for-pound king Anderson Silva, in preparation for his upcoming catch-weight bout against Wanderlei Silva in June.

Franklin’s camp declined to confirm the news, which would have only escalated a growing feud between Anderson and Wanderlei, former training partners that now seem to be a collision course to face each other in the future. However, according to Silva, Franklin hasn’t even contacted him about training together:

He didn’t said any word to me about it, but he’s gonna face a Brazilian, so it’s hard that something will happen. I don’t have anything against Franklin [or] Wanderlei, both are great fighters. In another situation, I’d train with him, for sure. My gym is open for everyone. Whoever goes there can have classes and I won’t have any problems if he decides to go there.

I had to clean up the quote a little bit so it would make sense. I’m not sure how to take this. Tatame is a great site for news related to Brazilian fighters, but quotes are often skewed during the translation from Portugese to Englsih and so forth.

If Franklin and Silva really are training together, they could be keeping things quiet so the repercussions of Anderson helping another fighter get ready to face another Brazilian, and a former teammate at that, are relatively minimal. Franklin’s camp also using Anderson and Wand’s shaky relationship these days as mind games could also be a possibility as well.

White Lays Out Futures for Franklin and Silva

The respective careers of Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva are at a crossroads, and their scheduled meeting at UFC 99 in June couldn’t come at a better time for the fighters themselves and fans alike. But with the bout taking place at a catch-weight of 195 lbs, almost no one knows where either Franklin or Silva go from here, except for Dana White:

“I met Rich in the middle,” UFC president Dana White said of the decision for the catchweight. “Rich didn’t want to cut weight. He didn’t want to go back to 85, and Wanderlei hasn’t been to 85 yet.

...

“I think it’s a fun fight and it will be a fun fight to watch,” said White.

Regardless of the outcome, Franklin will continue to compete at light heavyweight while Silva is expected to debut as a middleweight in his next scheduled bout following the Franklin fight.

The decision to go their separate ways is the best idea for both fighters. At middleweight, Franklin would just be knocking off potential title contenders, but at light heavyweight, he can challenge for a belt in a division he’s yet to conquer. No longer a real threat at light heavyweight, Silva will also find new territory at 185 lbs. It’s a win-win situation for all parties involved.

Report: Franklin vs. Silva Booked for UFC 99

In a battle of stars in career limbo, former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin will reportedly take on former longtime PRIDE middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva at UFC 99, which is scheduled to take place on June 13 in Cologne, Germany.

The news comes from MMA Weekly, which reports that both fighters have agreed to the fight. Bout agreements have not been issued, and won’t likely be for the next few weeks, but the matchup is said to possibly be happening at a catch-weight of 195 lbs.

After losing his UFC middleweight title to Anderson Silva and failing to regain it in a subsequent rematch, Franklin moved to the light heavyweight division where he previous found success early in his career, and went on to score a third-round TKO of Matt Hamill at UFC 88 before losing a razor-close split decision to Dan Henderson this past January at UFC 93 in Dublin, Ireland.

Silva was mired in the longest losing streak of his storied career, dropping three straight fights, before he bounced back to score an impressive first-round knockout of Keith Jardine at UFC 84 last May. Despite defeating Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in their two prior fights over in Japan years ago, SIlva was recently knocked out in the first round of their third meeting at UFC 92 in December.

Photo of the Day: Franklin’s Eye After UFC 93

Former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin shows fans his eye just days after being inadvertently poked in the third round by Dan Henderson, who defeated Franklin by split decision at UFC 93 this past weekend, in a new photo on his official website.

UFC 93 Pre-Fight Press Conference Video

Here’s video from Thursday’s pre-fight press conference for UFC 93. Video of Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson speaking to the media is above. Comments from Mark Coleman, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, John Hathaway, and Tom Egan follow after the jump.

Continue reading "UFC 93 Pre-Fight Press Conference Video"

Video: Kenny Florian Breaks Down Franklin-Henderson, Coleman-Rua

In the above video, UFC lightweight contender Kenny Florian breaks the two high-profile matchups that will headline Saturday’s UFC 93 event in Dublin, Ireland: Rich Franklin vs. Dan Henderson and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Mark Coleman.

Video: Franklin Ready to Answer Challenges Henderson Presents

In the above video, former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin discusses his upcoming light heavyweight bout with former PRIDE multi-division champion Dan Henderson at this Saturday’s UFC 93 event, which takes place at the O2 Arena in Dublin, Ireland. 

Video: Henderson Wants Exciting Fight Against Franklin

In the above video, former PRIDE multi-division champion Dan Henderson discusses his upcoming light heavyweight bout with former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin at this Saturday’s UFC 93 event, which takes place at the O2 Arena in Dublin, Ireland.