Rich Franklin makes comeback against Brazilian Wanderlei Silva at UFC 147 – UFC News
Rich Franklin, the former UFC middleweight champion, will return to the octagon after 15 months to headline Ultimate Fighting Championship’s ‘UFC 147’ pay-per-view against Brazilian proud Wanderlei Silva, the former Pride middleweight champion.
The showdown will be televised live on June 23, 2012 and the octagon will be set up at Estadio Jornalista Felipe Drumond in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The event will be co-headlined by the non-title heavyweight bout between Fabricio Werdum and Mike Russow.
The duo recently participated in the pre-bout press conference to share their thoughts about the upcoming engagement. It must be reminded that Rich is a last minute substitute for Vitor Belfort.
Silva was originally scheduled to collide with Vitor, the former UFC light heavyweight champion, but due to an inadvertent injury the ‘Phenome’ was forced to cancel the engagement.
The announcement was made recently just days before the event and in order to save the pay-per-view from getting jeopardised, Franklin was called on. Rich, 37, has been in a total of 35 bouts.
The veteran brawler, who is the fifth best heavyweight in the UFC, possesses an intimidating resume. He has emerged victorious in 28 bouts. The former champion is good at both – the stand up and the ground game - the reason why he has pinned 15 opponents
by knockout and 10 by submission.
During the media interaction, Rich vowed to replicate the last clash’s performance and stated, “It’s a great opportunity being here in Brazil, we’re here to put on a great show. My first fight with Wanderlei was very exciting, and I don’t see this as being
anything short of that. This is going to be a very fun fight.”
It must be noted that this is the second time both men are taking on each other. In their first encounter, it was Rich who rose at the occasion by collecting a unanimous decision. Silva, Rich’s Saturday night opponent, is also a talented pounder who has
been in a total of 47 mixed martial bouts.
The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt holder has grabbed 24 of his 34 wins by knockouts and is considered a lethal knockout specialist. When asked as to how he feels on fighting in his hometown, the veteran Silva commented, “I wish to thank everyone for all
their warmth. I am willing, motivated and very well-trained for this fight. It wears you out, but getting this energy from the public gives me the drive for a great fight.”
The bout will definitely be an exciting one as both men are considered top-notch pounders in the whole UFC. In addition, the duo possesses vast and diversified experience.
For the time being, the odds are somewhat in favour of Rich who not only possesses a better win ratio but has the psychological advantage of winning over Silva once.
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