UFC 126: Should Rich Franklin Move Back to Middleweight?

Going into UFC 126, there were a lot of people picking Forrest Griffin to beat Rich Franklin on one factor alone; his size. It was obvious when the two former champions met inside the Octagon Saturday night how much size would play into the fight, and it was even more clear when Griffin took Franklin down in the first round.

"The gameplan unfolded the way I thought it would," Franklin said in his UFC post-fight interview. "He took me down, and he was heavy."

Griffin controlled Franklin for the entire first round on the ground. Franklin didn't make many attempts to get up, and didn't want to risk getting hit trying to do so.

"I really thought that the ref would stand it up, but he didn't," Franklin said. "I thought I did enough in the second and third round to win the fight."

The second and third rounds saw both fighters trading punches and kicks with nothing significant landing. Griffin was awarded the unanimous decision. Each judge scored the fight 29-28.

Where does Franklin go from here?

He won't have to deal with fighters like Griffin in every fight if he decides to stay at light heavyweight, but he will still be undersized for the division. His only real reason to move to light heavyweight was because his chances fared better in a division that didn't include Anderson Silva.

Being that he doesn't have a problem making 185 pounds, another fight at 195 could make sense for him, but it won't mean much for him making a run at the title again.

There are better fights for him at middleweight, and he will have a better chance at being successful in that division. He could potentially challenge the fighters who have come up in the division since he moved up in weight; Demian Maia, Alan Belcher, Brian Stann.

If he decides to stay at light heavyweight, a fight with Stephan Bonnar could be a great fight for the fans, and it would be a good test for Franklin against a fighter with a similar style.

If he isn't interested in making another title run, focusing on fan-friendly fights may be the best thing for him to do in the light heavyweight division.