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by Tim Burke
In the main event at UFC 147, Rich Fraklin survived a major scare at the end of the second round to take a unanimous decision victory over Wanderlei Silva in a 190-pound catchweight fight. That's how their first bout at UFC 99 went down as well, though that one was closer than this. The final scores were 49-46, 49-46, and 49-46.
Franklin mainly controlled the fight with solid striking from the outside and not letting Silva get close enough to blitz him. The one time he did, Silva dropped him in the second round and nearly pounded him out, but Franklin managed to minimize the damage on the ground and made it to the end of the round. After recuperating for a minute, he went right back to what he was doing before and won the next three rounds.
What was the high spot of this fight?
Either Silva almost finishing Franklin, or the last thirty seconds where they both threw caution to the wind and just brawled. Franklin dropping Silva right at the final bell was crazy.
Where do these guys go from here?
Franklin said after the fight that he wants to make one more run at the UFC middleweight title before he retires. I don't know if that will be possible or not, but I'm excited to see him try. The future Hall of Famer is still an excellent fighter that can give anyone (except Anderson Silva) problems. A bout with Alan Belcher sounds like a good next fight for Franklin.
Silva fought valiantly but came up short. He still wants to fight opposing TUF Brazil coach Vitor Belfort next, but Dana White didn't see that happening. If that isn't the plan, I'd like to see Silva face the loser of the UFC 149 bout between Tim Boetsch and Hector Lombard.
Watch it now, later or never?
Now. It was slow at times, but never boring. There are definitely worse ways to spend 25 minutes.
SBN coverage of UFC 147
More Bloody Elbow coverage of UFC 147 in the full entry.
In the main event at UFC 147, Rich Fraklin survived a major scare at the end of the second round to take a unanimous decision victory over Wanderlei Silva in a 190-pound catchweight fight. That's how their first bout at UFC 99 went down as well, though that one was closer than this. The final scores were 49-46, 49-46, and 49-46.
Franklin mainly controlled the fight with solid striking from the outside and not letting Silva get close enough to blitz him. The one time he did, Silva dropped him in the second round and nearly pounded him out, but Franklin managed to minimize the damage on the ground and made it to the end of the round. After recuperating for a minute, he went right back to what he was doing before and won the next three rounds.
What was the high spot of this fight?
Either Silva almost finishing Franklin, or the last thirty seconds where they both threw caution to the wind and just brawled. Franklin dropping Silva right at the final bell was crazy.
Where do these guys go from here?
Franklin said after the fight that he wants to make one more run at the UFC middleweight title before he retires. I don't know if that will be possible or not, but I'm excited to see him try. The future Hall of Famer is still an excellent fighter that can give anyone (except Anderson Silva) problems. A bout with Alan Belcher sounds like a good next fight for Franklin.
Silva fought valiantly but came up short. He still wants to fight opposing TUF Brazil coach Vitor Belfort next, but Dana White didn't see that happening. If that isn't the plan, I'd like to see Silva face the loser of the UFC 149 bout between Tim Boetsch and Hector Lombard.
Watch it now, later or never?
Now. It was slow at times, but never boring. There are definitely worse ways to spend 25 minutes.
SBN coverage of UFC 147
More Bloody Elbow coverage of UFC 147 in the full entry.
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