UFC 88, the upcoming card in Atlanta, just got a little more interesting. Multiple sources are reporting that Rich "Ace" Franklin will be making a move to the Light Heavyweight division. The move up in weight comes as somewhat of a surprise as there are still fights available in the 185 lbs. division.
The move shows me that Mr. Franklin doesn't want to fight Anderson Silva ever again. While a re-match against Silva wouldn't be interesting, there were several fights that I wanted to see at 185.
Dan Henderson is a guy whose name has been mentioned as a possible opponent for Franklin, but Hendo has been tapped to face ground Wizard Rousimar Palhares.
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I would have liked Franklin to face Henderson, Marquardt, Leites, or Maia. However, he has decided to move up to the most dynamic weight class in MMA today, the Light Heavyweight division of the UFC.
Franklin's first opponent is rumored to be former TUF alum Matt Hamill. Hamill is coming off a victory over Tim Boetsch. He's 4-1, with his only loss being a highly controversial decision to Michael Bisping.
Hamill is a world class wrestler and may be a difficult stylistic match-up for Franklin. Franklin has fantastic stand-up and a serviceable ground game, but this bout will certainly test his sprawl.
For Hamill to win this fight and climb up the 205 ladder, he needs to take Franklin down to the ground and keep him there. Hamill is at a distinct disadvantage on the feet but his wrestling is his only chance.
While the betting man has to favor Franklin, this is not a "gimme" fight for Franklin. He must come to Atlanta ready to wrestle and have a gameplan for Hamills take-down attempts. It will be an interesting bout.
The show in Atlanta is starting to take shape and offers some very interesting match-ups. Liddell vs. Evans, Hendo vs. Palhares, Parisyan vs. Yoshida, and Franklin vs. Hamill.
More fights should be announced soon, and I can hardly wait.
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about 1 month ago
Well this wouldn't exactly be a debut for Franklin at 205 he did knot up Shamrock at 205. And Anderson Silva is fighting at 205 against Irvin at an upcoming UFC event. Maybe Franklin is really wanting to avenge his losses. I mean I really don't know what his motivation would be for moving up, but ducking out on the division because he doesn't want to fight anderson Silva again is definitely out of mind there.
from about 1 month ago
It's been a long time for Franklin since fighting at 205. If he wanted to avenge his loss and fight Silva again why wouldn't he do it at 185. The climb to the top of the heap is much easier at 185 than it is at 205. I don't think Franklin will fight for a belt in the UFC again. Silva moving to 205 has more to do with super fights like Silva vs. Silva and Liddell vs. Silva.
I agree that I don't see any reason for the move, but I still believe that Silva holding the belt has something to do with it.
from about 1 month ago
Maybe he sees it as an advantage to fight at 205 against Silva...You never know, but if Silva makes the move and decides that he will bounce back and forth that will definitely take a toll on him.
from about 1 month ago
How will take a toll on him? All it's doing is changing the amount of weight he cuts. He weights about 215 normally. Are you saying because all of the fights he's taking?
Besides, it seems to me the whole idea of moving up to 205 to face Irvin is just to give a prelude to him moving to 205 for good. If he can't beat Irvin he'll stay at 185... but that is really unlikely. After he beats Irvin, I see him going back to 185 to knockout Okami, then the division will be virtually cleaned out -- other than Kampmann/Bisping/Maia/Palhares -- guys who haven't earned their shot yet. I'd also still like to see a Hendo vs Silva rematch but I think I'll have to live with that not happening for a while at the very least.
from about 1 month ago
Well if he gets used to the pace of 205, fighting at 185 might just give him the weakness they have been looking for. If he gets used to easily being faster than everyone then he would have a problem with the smaller guys like if he got used to taking punches from a 185'er then the power might be to much for him when there is 20 lbs difference.
about 1 month ago
Not a "gimme" fight for Franklin at all. MacDonald and Lutter took him down, and I guarantee that Hamill will. Hamill only needs to win two rounds, and his striking is improving. I would not be surprised if Hamill won a decision at all. Franklin needs to be aggressive in looking for the knockout, but that also leaves him susceptible to the takedown.
I don't see a sub from either guy, so Franklin by k.o. or Hamill by decision. I'm actually leaning toward the latter, and Hamill is a pretty big guy, so I think he'll have a strength advantage over Franklin, which helps in the wrestling department. Plus, Franklin might be a little shaken up mentally from his losses, and didn't look that great in the Lutter fight.
This is shaping up to be a really good card.
from about 1 month ago
You really like hamill over franklin? Franklin typically dictates the pace in his fights (minus the silva fights). They typically come down to a boxing match which obviously favors franklin. He's decent at takedown defense, however, like you said his striking leaves him vulnerable. I don't think he'll be worried if he does get taken down though. Hamill is not going to submit him and franklin is a very strong guy as well. I've never seen anyone do any ground and pound on him. I would put money on the majority of this fight being on their feet w/ franklin getting the better of the exchange.
about 1 month ago
Doesn't it figure, I was just getting to the point that I knew who was in each division, now here we go again with everyone changing up.
about 1 month ago
I think we've seen the best that frankiln has to offer, and I'm a big fan. He was destroyed by the better fighter in Silva @185, and in the 205er's, He's got some serious threats to his intntl. rankings. His last victory came by decsion, and he had real trouble against Okami. As classy and as fun a guy as he is to watch, its my veiw that he won't ever really be a true contender for the belts again, esp. with a younger and more dynamic fighter in Silva around to hold the 185 title.
from about 1 month ago
Franklin won his last fight by TKO. Also, he did not have trouble against okami. He won all three rounds. He dominated the first two rounds and the third round okami finally woke up and was aggressive but they still gave that round to franklin as well.
I do agree w/ you that he'll never have a belt again but he has nothing to prove at this point anyways. He'll go down a great champion. He can't beat silva but nobody can right now.
about 1 month ago
so what will happen when hamill takes franklin down? what happens when a wrestler takes someone down? as we have seen, absolutly nothing. hamill will take franklin down, then the ref will have to stand them up, because hamill is a retard. wrestling only gets you to the ground, it doesnt get you anywhere after that. hamill's stand up is much like an ethiopian girl learning how to skip rope. how people are saying hamill is this monster and he is going to win a decision is completely ridiculous. what happens when hamill gases in the first round, like he usually does?
from about 1 month ago
Franklin's last contest at 205 was three years ago against Shamrock, who threw the fight. Rich is much more comfortable fighting at 185, and his move back to 205 could affect him physically. As George so amicably pointed out, the question is whether or not Hamill can do enough on the ground to keep the fight there, because he definitely will get the takedown on Franklin.
Franklin will have to turn it up a notch in the second and third round, but Hamill has a good chin and is really difficult to put away. I'm not sure if Rich can get a standing knockout on Hamill, but might get a tko if he flurries or hurts Hamill first. If Rich can keep the fight on the feet during the last two rounds, he should win the striking exchanges, though Hamill is getting better in that department.
You can win a fight via repeated takedowns though (cool people call it lay n' pray), due to the scoring system. And Hamill only needs to win the first two rounds and last the third. But he does need to work on his cardio. Franklin is a great fighter, and has only lost to A+ competition. But he won't be a huge favourite in this fight, since it's his return to 205, and it's not the easiest match-up they could have gave him. But he just might find a way to pull through like he usually does, though it won't be easy. We'll see though.
And Derek, I thought the Okami fight was scored 29-28 for Franklin? If Okami had started to fight in the second round instead of the third, he would've walked away with a victory. In fact, I wouldn't mind seeing a rematch (though Okami is such a slow starter and a little boring, his only loss in the UFC was to Franklin).
about 1 month ago
how the hell can someone speculate that franklin is more comfortable at 185 than 205? matt the helen keller hamill is NOT, i repeat, NOT a good fighter. did anyone even watch the lutter fight? he is mister jiu-jitsu at 185 and franklin handled him like he was a child. this is a gimmie for franklin, like irvin to silva.
from about 1 month ago
You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. And you're a real jackass for making fun of Hamill's hearing disability.
I'll take Hamill in this fight for sure. This is set up to be his coming out party. The only way I see Matt losing is if Franklin submits him off his back or gets a sudden knockout.
from about 1 month ago
You obviously did not hear his post-fight comments after the Shamrock fight, when he said that would be his last fight at 205 and that he would be going back to 185 because he prefers fighting in that weight class.
Why do you think Rich didn't stay at 205? Because he has a greater size and strength advantage at 185, and he rehydrates after the cut, so he walks into the octagon at over 200 pounds anyways. But 205'ers walk into the cage at 220-225 come fight time, and most of them are naturally bigger than Franklin. Rampage and Forrest hit 240 when they're not training.
Rich is doing what many other fighters and wrestlers do: cut weight and fight in a lighter weight class to have an advantage. GSP, Fitch, and Koscheck should be fighting at 185, but they cut to 170 because they can and because it increases their chances of winning. And winning is what it all comes down to.
from about 1 month ago
And Alves should be at 185 too... btw, while we're on the subject of weight cutting. I hope that Diego loses to Alves and moves to 155. That would be awesome. He can definitely make 155... and he's hinted at doing it before. Maybe after losing to THREE big welterweights he'll finally decide enough is enough.
Interesting to note that when he was a state champion wrestler in highschool it was in the 152 pound division... fairly certain.
about 1 month ago
Btw thanks for the update Ryan. This card sounds sweet.
from about 1 month ago
Have you heard that the UFC and Spike Brass are thinking about making UFC 89 a delayed Free show on Spike? Leben vs. Bisping and Alves vs. Sanchez for free! that would be awesome.
from about 1 month ago
I would love to see Diego at 155. I think that he could beat Penn and become champ. I wonder how the move would affect his cardio though. Basically, if he loses to Alves, he might never get a shot at the 170 lb. belt. So I think a loss just may convince him to move down in weight, but I believe he is a bit stubborn occasionally.
There are tons of great match-ups for Diego at 155. Plenty of awesome grapplers in that division, with many wars to come. I do want to see Diego vs GSP though, because the only guy who GSP has fought with comparable jiu-jitsu is Penn. Diego is great at scrambling and sweeps, and could give GSP some trouble on the ground. I don't think anyone will finish Diego though, in either weight class.
And I think he should have gotten the decision over Fitch, but perhaps this way it's better, because now GSP can teach Fitch (who's been talking too much and training too little) a lesson or two about what it means to be the best in your division.
about 1 month ago
Yeah I've heard that. It sounds great. And also I heard that they might to UFC 90 like a week after that on ppv??
about 1 month ago
everyone here knows a lot about cutting weight....but nothing about fight analysis. good luck in the future to everyone
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