UFC 115: What's Not To Like About Rich Franklin vs. Chuck Liddell?

There was a time when Chuck Liddell and Rich Franklin were the two most dominant fighters in the sport of MMA. Franklin held the middleweight strap and had only lost once in his entire career. Liddell ruled the roost at 205 lbs, having beaten a who's who of light heavyweight opposition.

Then, in the space of six short months, their world's imploded. Franklin was resoundingly beaten by Anderson Silva not once, but twice. Liddell lost his belt when Quentin "Rampage" Jackson beat him for the second time and then fell to a disappointing decision loss to Keith Jardine.

Some were suggesting that father time had finally caught up with both men—Franklin is now 35 and Liddell is 40. Perhaps they are past their prime but the truth of the matter is that the sport of mixed martial arts is constantly evolving and improving.

Anderson Silva is not younger than Franklin, he is simply better. Being beaten by Silva does not make Franklin any less of a fighter than he was a year or two previously.

It is a case of MMA progressing, not of Franklin regressing and if Anderson Silva continues to fight long enough it will happen to him. Not because he will be too old but because eventually, inevitably, someone better than Silva will emerge.

It is easy to forget that mixed martial arts is still a sport in its infancy. Liddell had his first fight in 1998, Franklin in 1999 when there was a fraction of the amount of people learning MMA as there are today.

Despite their undeniable ability, both fighters emerged from a comparatively small pool of talent. Today that pool has increased exponentially and it is inevitable that the quality of fighters at the very top of the sport is going to increase accordingly.

Liddell and Franklin's recent records may not be the best but they have continued to face stellar opposition. Franklin's last three fights have been against Vitor Belfort, Wanderlei Silva, and Dan Henderson. Liddell's last three opponents are Mauricio Rua, Rashad Evans, and Wanderlei Silva.

While both men have shown a greater propensity for losing in recent fights, they are still stepping it up with the top fighters in the sport and demonstrating that they are able to compete at an elite level.

Liddell vs. Franklin would have been a dream match up in 2006.

It may have lost a little of its allure in the intervening years but it is still a fascinating fight. You don't want the outcome of fights of this magnitude to remain open to conjecture for posterity.

The question of "who would have won if Rich Franklin had faced Chuck Liddell?" deserves a definitive answer. This weekend at UFC 115, we will get it.